Origin and history
The church of Saint Lucien d'Avrechy, located in the Oise region of Hauts-de-France, is a religious building built over centuries. Its square choir, built in the second quarter of the 12th century in a late Romanesque style, is the oldest part. It is distinguished by a vault of large Romanesque warheads for the period, with carefully ground ribs and various capitals. This choir, dedicated to Saint Lucien de Beauvais and Saint Waudru de Mons, preserves relics of these two saints, placed in shawls near the neo-Roman high altar. The vault, arched and fitted perpendicular to the warheads, presents archaisms typical of the first experiments of arching warheads in the region, while displaying innovations like ground formations.
From the late 15th century until the mid 16th century, the rest of the church was rebuilt in the flamboyant Gothic style, with the exception of the Romanesque choir. This reconstruction includes the nave, the lower side almost as high as the nave, and a less wide transept than the nave. The north cross of the transept serves as the base for the bell tower. The vaults of the nave and the lower side, homogeneous despite stylistic inconsistencies, fall on caps decorated with mouldings or plant motifs. The third-point side windows have late flamboyant fillings, with simple, assage-like shapes, reflecting the transition to the Renaissance.
The Western portal, last added during the reign of Henry II (1547-1559), is Renaissance-style. It consists of two doors in the full hanger flanked by doric columns, supporting a complete entabment. The sculpted decoration, characteristic of the Renaissance, includes caissons, roses, and cherub heads, although strongly degraded today. This portal, although of quality, is described as cold and formalistic, without particular originality.
Saint Lucian Church has been classified as historical monuments since 29 August 1950. It underwent several restorations, especially in the 19th century, where the deeply degraded Romanesque choir was consolidated. In 1882 the parish obtained a relic of Saint Waudru, a vertebrae, to replace those lost. In 1964, the funeral of Admiral Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu, Chancellor of the Order of Liberation, was celebrated in the presence of General de Gaulle. Today, the church, although no longer an independent parish, remains an active place of worship within the parish of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul du Pays de Chaussé.
The church's furniture includes several notable elements, including funeral slabs from the 16th and 17th centuries, such as that of Françoise d'Argillière (1526) or Louis d'Hangest and his wife Jeanne de Collincourt (16th-17th centuries). A 17th-century foundation plaque recalls the legacy of sculptor Fleury Macqueron, while an 18th-century commemorative plaque honours Pierre Joseph Gon de Vassigny, President of the Paris Aid Court. The glass windows, partially classified, include fragments of a 1554 stained glass window, now mounted in a window on the north side.
Architecturally, the church is distinguished by its simple and almost symmetrical cruciform plan, with a nave of three spans accompanied by low sides, a non-overhanging transept, and a square choir with a flat bedside. The bell tower, located above the north crusillon, is without particular architectural interest, with a floor of belfry openworked with bays in full hanger. The exterior of the choir, sober and undecorated, reflects the characteristics of primitive Romanesque architecture, while the flamboyant parts display a stone-cut apparatus of great regularity. The church, surrounded by a cemetery, dominates the main street of the village thanks to a retaining wall, although its western gate, without direct access from the street, is rarely used.
Announcements
Please log in to post a review