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Origin and history

The Saint-Jean-Baptiste church of Saint-Jean-des-Baisants, located in the Channel in Normandy, was rebuilt in the 3rd quarter of the 20th century after the destruction of the village during the Battle of Normandy. The original project of architect Guy Pison (1952), inspired by the church of Graignes, was rejected by the local population and the parish priest, who called it "silo". A compromise was reached in 1959, entrusting the plans to architect Belin de Saint-Lô. The building, completed in 1962, is distinguished by its apparent granite structure, a rectangular vessel with triangulated portico, and a lateral bell tower topped by an arrow.

The stained glass windows, made in 1967 by the painter François Chapuis and the glassmaker Gouffault, constitute the major heritage element of the church. They contrast coloured glass windows in the north (moving towards warm tones near the sanctuary) and monochrome glass windows in the south, energized by a graphical network of leads. These works motivated the protection of the building, which was listed in the Historic Monuments on 15 December 2005 after an aborted first attempt for the glass windows alone.

The church illustrates the tensions between architectural modernity and local traditions in the post-war reconstruction in Normandy. Its sober style, marked by the use of granite, fits into the regional religious landscape, while integrating a contemporary artistic dimension through its stained glass windows. The property of the commune, it is today a testimony of this period of renewal.

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