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Origin and history

The church of Saint Martin de Colombelles, built in the 12th and 13th centuries in Romanesque style, is located in the historical district of Bas Colombelles, near the Orne. Originally built as a place of worship and watchtower, it depended on the abbey of the Plessis-Grimoult, which perceived its tithes until the Revolution. Its western portal, adorned with zigzag and frets, and its original nave, illustrate its medieval heritage. The square tower, redesigned in the 13th century, served both as a bell tower and as a surveillance post against invasions.

In the 17th century, the choir was transformed and equipped with a sober high altar, while a sacristy was added in 1663. A side chapel dedicated to Saint Joseph was built in 1828 by the family of Laistre, in memory of their daughter Ambroisin. The church, registered as a historical monument in 1927, suffered damage during the 1944 bombings during the Disembarkation. Restored in the postwar period under the impulse of Father Dugimond, she lost her lateral altars and her original cross path to modernist developments, including wall paintings and wrought iron grids designed by Serge Himbault.

Disused of regular worship since 1963, the date of the consecration of Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul church in the city centre, Saint-Martin now hosts exhibitions, concerts and annual masses. His adjoining cemetery, decommissioned in 1938, preserved historical graves, including those of the Counts of Laistre (1732–94) and White Russians exiled after 1917. The association Les Amis de la Tour, founded in 1996, hosts the site during the Journées du Patrimoine and the Festival Pierres en lumières, highlighting its architectural and memorial heritage.

Among the remarkable elements, the 16th century High Relief Charity of Saint Martin, classified as a historical monument in 1933, now adorns the interior after overcoming the northern gate. The abstract stained glass windows of the 20th century evoke local metallurgy and Disembarkation, while the bells, offered by notables such as the Countess of Laistre or Mayor Monin, bear witness to communal anchoring. Abbé Joseph Leroy, a long-standing priest during the Second World War, illustrates the social and patriotic commitment to this place.

The architecture of the church reflects its successive adaptations: the Romanesque nave with archatures hidden by 17th century woodwork, the tower turned into a bell tower in 1822, or the stained glass windows of the evangelists signed André Ripeau. Liturgical furniture, like the 17th century altarpiece (including Jean-François Restout's central canvas was stolen in 1986), completes this heritage. Today, Saint Martin embodies both a medieval vestige, a symbol of post-war reconstruction and a living cultural space.

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