Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Étienne de Bouconvillers, first mentioned in 1141, was then attached to the Abbey of Notre-Dame du Bec. Its Romanesque portal, dated this year, and its two-storey bell tower (square then octagonal) make it a rare monument in the French Vexin. The nave, the north crusillon and the bell tower, built in the 12th century, form the primitive church in a cruciform plane, without side. The bell tower, inspired by that of the collegiate Notre-Dame de Poissy, peaks at 37 meters with a stone arrow.

In the 13th century, a northern lateral chapel was added to the choir, followed in the 14th century by a southern chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame des Neiges, serving as a seigneurial chapel. The 16th century marked a phase of major reshuffles: reconstruction of the southern crusillon with a vault on a dowry cross, replacement of the Romanesque bays with flamboyant windows, and recasting of the choir. A sacristy is also built, partially masking the tower's staircase turret.

The radical restoration of 1877-1878, financed by the Countess des Courtils, profoundly transformed the interior. The nave, initially lambrissed, is divided into six vaulted bays of neogothic dogives, while the choir, chapels and southern crusillon lose their original traces. Only a few Romanesque elements remain, such as the portal and the north crusillon. On March 18, 1927, the choir, the bell tower and the gate were listed as historical monuments.

The church houses remarkable furniture, including baptismal fonts and a 15th century benigner, classified in 1912, as well as a painting attributed to Claude Vignon (XVIIth century), now preserved at the Oise Departmental Museum. A bell of 1556, the only surviving of the Revolution, and a commemorative slab of the prior Jean Begeault (circa 1570) complete this heritage. The adjacent priory, transformed into a farm, recalls the historical links with the Abbey of Bec.

Architecturally, the building is singularized by its Romanesque bell tower, a unique transition between a square floor and an octagonal floor via glacis. The bays on the first floor, decorated with diamond tips and saw teeth, contrast with the simplicity of the capitals. Despite the controversial restorations, the church preserves traces of its medieval past, such as the Romanesque bay of the north crusillon or the chorus' flat foothills.

Today, St. Stephen's Church remains a testimony to the architectural evolutions of the Vexin, mixing primitive novel, flamboyant Gothic and 19th century interventions. Its history also reflects the links between religious power (Abbey of Bec), seigneurial (Chapelle Notre-Dame des Neiges) and communal (restoration by a local patron).

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