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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Éloi de Tracy-le-Val, located in the Oise department in the Hauts-de-France region, is one of the first thirteen historical monuments classified in 1840. Its construction is attributed to the 12th century, probably under the authority of the Knights of the Temple. It is distinguished by its primitive Romanesque architecture, including its two-storey bell tower: a square floor topped by an octagonal floor, embellished with head-shaped sculpted capitals and modillons representing fantastic figures. The exterior facades are also decorated with long-line sculptures and grotesques, typical of medieval art.

Almost entirely destroyed during the First World War, the church was reconstructed identically and restored on 6 March 1932. This restoration has kept its original features, such as the triangular pediment portal, delicate capital columnettes, and oculi illuminating the bottoms. Inside there are funerary plaques of the Eagle family, including a black marble medallion decorated with gold representing a child who died in 1846. The baptismal tank, probably dating from the 12th century, also bears witness to the age of the place.

The bell tower, described as a "pearl of French art" by André Hallays in 1910, impresses with its rich decorative and harmonious proportions. The square tower, pierced by narrow windows framed by columns, is transformed into an octagonal structure crowned with a stone cone. At angles, statues with deployed wings mask the architectural transition. Modillons and chéneaux, decorated with heads of men and expressive animals, add to its unique character. Alexis Martin, in 1894, already stressed the "grace of the lines" and the "suavity of the details" of this building, despite its small size.

Affiliated with the parish of Notre-Dame-de-la-Resurrection in Carlepont, the church of Saint-Éloi remains a major testimony of Romanesque architecture in Picardia. Its early ranking among historical monuments, as well as literary praises from the 19th and early 20th centuries, confirm its heritage importance. Today, it continues to mark the landscape of Tracy-le-Val, at the crossroads of the streets of the Temple and General de Gaulle, as a symbol of resilience and preservation of medieval heritage.

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