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Origin and history

The church Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Michel de Séry-Magneval, located in the Oise department in the Hauts-de-France region, is a Catholic parish building built between the 12th and 13th centuries. Its Romanesque nave, composed of two spans, is enhanced at the end of the 12th century, while the transept and choir, of Gothic style, are built at the beginning of the 13th century. The building is distinguished by its unusual slenderness for a small church, as well as its overpassed double arches and flat bedside illuminated by a triplet, typical of the region.

The nave, originally conceived as a Romanesque basilica with low sides, undergoes several transformations. Around 1170, the western gate was redone in a nascent Gothic style, still in the middle of the hanger, and the gable was raised. The lower side disappears at an undetermined time, and the bell tower, partially abrased in the 19th century, is covered with a perpendicular building. Despite its architectural interest, the church has never been classified or listed as historical monuments, although it benefited from a complete restoration between 2006 and 2014.

Under the Old Regime, the church falls under the Diocese of Senlis and the Dean of Crepy-en-Valois. After the Revolution, it was attached to the diocese of Beauvais and, between 1801 and 1822, to that of Amiens. In the 19th century, the parish of Glaignes was reunited. A commemorative plaque in the nave attests to a restoration funded by 68 subscribers between 1824 and 1825. The bell tower, whose belfry floor is replaced by a neo-roman floor, then loses part of its original character.

The interior of the church reveals an un arched nave, illuminated by flamboyant high Gothic windows added after the Hundred Years' War. The transept, of a barlong plane, and the choir, finished with a flat bedside, are vaulted d ́ogives from the beginning. The square crucifixes house vaulted niches in a broken cradle. Outside, the 12th century portal, restored in 2013-2014, illustrates the transition between Romanesque and Gothic styles, with its oric archvolts in full hang and its protruding forebody.

The church furniture, largely dated from the 18th and 19th centuries, was removed during recent restorations. Only a 16th century wooden Pietà, classified as a historical monument in 1966, remains as a remarkable element, although it is now preserved in the Museum of Archery and Valois. The building, surrounded by its cemetery, remains an occasional place of worship within the parish of the autumn valley, whose main place of assembly is the Saint Peter's church of Verberie.

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