Église Saint-Martin de Villequier-Aumont dans l'Aisne

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Origin and history

The Saint-Martin church of Villequier-Aumont is located in a picard village of Vermandois, on the edge of the Oise valley. Although its exact period of construction is not specified in the sources, it is part of a territory marked by an ancient religious history, notably with the foundation around 1211 of a hospital by Aubert III of Hangest, later transformed into a convent and then a pre-demonstrated abbey. This place of worship is closely linked to the local lords, including the family of Hangest, then the Brûlarts and the Aumonts, who shaped the history of the commune.

The Saint Elizabeth Abbey of Genlis, next to the church, plays a central role in the spiritual and economic life of the village until its destruction during the First World War. The abbey, looted several times (notably in 1472 by the troops of Charles the Temerary and in 1652 during the Fronde), was abolished at the Revolution. The village suffered major damage in 1914-1918, being occupied by the German army and decorated with the Cross of War in 1920. The Saint Martin church, although less documented, embodies the resilience of this local heritage.

The toponyme Villequier-Aumont was born in 1774 by Louis-Alexandre-Céleste of Aumont, who merged the names Villequier (Normand fief of his family) and Aumont. This change reflects the 18th century seigneurial transformations. After the Revolution, the village temporarily took the name of Genlis before returning to its current name in 1814. The church, like the rest of the village, bears the traces of these political and social changes.

In the 19th century, the commune experienced a demographic decline due to the closure of local industries, such as a sugar factory in the former Abbey. During World War I, the last remains of the abbey were destroyed, and the village, considered destroyed, was later rebuilt. Today, the Church of Saint Martin remains a silent witness to this turbulent history, in a landscape marked by agriculture and forests.

The religious heritage of Villequier-Aumont is also part of a wider geographical context, that of the Seine-Normandie basin and the Oise Valley. The village, crossed by rivers such as Helot, is characterized by a degraded oceanic climate and mostly agricultural land use. These natural elements have influenced both the settlement of buildings and the activities of the inhabitants, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era.

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