Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste du Plessis-Robinson, originally dedicated to Sainte-Marie-Madeleine until 1966, stands between Place de la Mairie and Avenue du Général-Leclerc. Its 12th century Romanesque bell tower, contemporary of the foundation charter of 1112, is a rare example of preserved medieval architecture. With a square stump and free of foothills, it has ungeminated cintre berries, a stylistic peculiarity. Its modern arrow rests on ancient ravens, while the rest of the building, rebuilt in 1737 by the parish priest François de la Garde, reflects a classical architecture.

In the 18th century, the church, threatened with ruin, was completely rebuilt at the expense of the parish priest François de la Garde in 1737, retaining only the original bell tower. Major transformations occurred in the 20th century: in the face of the influx of population linked to the garden city of the 1920s, the church, which became too small, was enlarged between 1949 and 1950. The architect Henri Vidal reoriented the building northward, adding a concrete nave while preserving the old nave as narthex and the old choir as sacristy. This work, financed by the Cardinal's Buildings, marked a modern adaptation of the place.

The church furniture bears witness to its rich past. A 17th-century Virgin Child, perhaps from the convent of Saint-Étienne des Feuillants de Plessis-Piquet, is venerated under the name of Notre-Dame de Bon Secours. Two paintings by Philip Mercier (Saint Jerome and Saint Thomas convinced by Jesus) and a stucco altar painted by James Odier (1827-1853), former mayor, adorn the spaces. The bell tower, which has been listed as a historic monument since April 10, 1929, remains the only protected part of the building.

The commemorative plaques remind local figures, such as Marshal Pierre de Montesquiou (1654-1725), governor of Arras and lord of Plessis-Picquet, buried in the church. An inscription of 1669 evokes Françoise Le Quin, widow of Claude Cambray, for whom annual Masses were instituted. Historical graves, whose location was lost during the 1949 works, underline the funeral importance of the place throughout the centuries.

The list of parish priests, from Jacques Naudot in 1562 to Jean-Emmanuel Gouze in 2019, reveals the close links between the church and the local elites. Among them, Abbé Comin (1945), resisting and deputy mayor, or Jean Dumaine (1765-1792), dismissed for having retracted his revolutionary oath. The income of the cure, documented from 1565 (20 pounds for 3 acres of land), and the inventory of 1790 (263 pounds of income, liturgical objects in silver) illustrate its economic and spiritual role.

The church thus embodies nearly nine centuries of history, combining Romanesque architecture, classical reconstructions, and contemporary adaptations. Its bell tower, furniture and archives make it a privileged witness to the religious, social and urban evolution of the Plessis-Robinson, from medieval lords to the 20th century garden city.

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