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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Ouen de Therdonne, located in the department of Oise, is a religious building whose nave dates from the 11th century, as evidenced by its cubic moellons recovered from Gallo-Roman buildings. His transept and chorus, of flamboyant Gothic style, date from the first quarter of the 16th century, representing one of the most remarkable achievements of rural life in the former diocese of Beauvais. The consecration of the chapels of the crusillons took place only in 1556, and the current bell tower, built between 1674 and 1676, replaces a Romanesque bell tower destroyed by the weather.

The nave, of Carolingian tradition, is characteristic of the Beauvais churches of that time, with its walls in small cubic bellows and its windows enlarged over the centuries. The choir and transept, on the other hand, offer a striking contrast with their flamboyant style, marked by penetrating vaults and wavy pillars. Today's missing stained glass windows and 16th-century woodwork add to the historical richness of the building.

The church has undergone several changes over the centuries, including the reconstruction of the bell tower in 1674 after its destruction by a wind blow, and major repairs at the beginning of the 19th century. Ranked a historic monument in 1913, it is now affiliated with the parish of Saint-Louis de Bresles. Its furniture, including reliquaries, statues and woodwork, bears witness to its religious and cultural importance.

The steeple, with its historic style, mimics the Romanesque and Gothic elements, with geminied berries and gargoyle-adorned foothills. Inside, the woodwork of the crucifixes, dating from the late 16th century, are decorated with paintings depicting saints and scenes of the life of the Virgin. Despite degradation and loss, such as the disappearance of 16th century stained glass windows, the church retains exceptional heritage value.

The history of the church was also marked by revolutionary events, such as the sale of the tithe barn in 1791 and the imprisonment of Abbé Étienne Lecat. After the Revolution, the parish experienced periods of vacancy before being attached to the parish of Bresles in 1996. Today, the church occasionally hosts early Sunday Masses.

The building is located in a communal cemetery, isolated from the houses, halfway between the hamlet of Wagicourt and the capital of Therdonne. Its isolation is due to the disappearance of a village called Saint-Ouen, destroyed by a fire in the early 19th century. This particularity is not unique in the region, where several churches are built away from the current villages.

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