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Origin and history

Saint-Ébremond de La Barre-de-Semilly is a 12th-century Catholic building located in the Manche department of Normandy. It belongs to the Romanesque current, with proto-Gothic influences, and is representative of the regional group of small churches of Cotentin, known as the "Lessay school". His choir, dated between 1130 and 1170, and its walls are among the oldest parts. The building is distinguished by its flat bedside, its vaults with radiant veins, and a bell tower with windows redesigned over the centuries. The stones, assembled in opus spicatum ("fish ridge"), recall 11th century techniques observed elsewhere in Normandy.

After the damage of the war (Second World War), the choir and the bell tower were restored, regaining their cover in North-Cotentin schist, called "platinum". The choir windows were also restored to their original dimensions. Inside, the church presents a simple rectangular plan, without downsides or transept. The nave, covered in wood "like an overturned ship", contrasts with the vaulted stone choir, where eight veins converge towards a central key, a rare complexity for a church of this size. The central span of the 15th century supports the bell tower.

The furniture includes six glass windows of 1958, representing saints such as Saint Jeanne d'Arc or Saint Ebremond, as well as an epitaph of 1485 dedicated to Gires Lecuqu, local vicar. These elements, inventoried with cultural heritage, complement a building marked by its inscription in historical monuments in 1946. The church thus embodies both Norman Romanesque heritage and subsequent adaptations, especially after the conflicts of the twentieth century.

Architecturally, the church connects to a network of Cotentin buildings, such as those of Martinvast or Octeville, where the dogive cross was adopted early for the vaults of the choir. Its bell tower, with carved stones of human and animal faces, and its opus spicatum walls bear witness to medieval know-how. Despite its modesty, the site offers a remarkable example of the transition between Romanesque and Gothic in Lower Normandy.

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