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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Île de France
  4. Val-d'oise
  5. 95750 Chars

  6. Church of Saint Sulpice of Chars

 Church of Saint Sulpice of Chars dans le Val-d'oise

Patrimoine classé
Eglise romane et gothique
Architecture gothique flamboyant
Eglise Renaissance et néo-Renaissance
Val-doise

Church of Saint Sulpice of Chars

    30-38 Rue de l'Église
    95750 Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Église Saint-Sulpice de Chars
Crédit photo : Nitot - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1200
…
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1170-1177
Abbatial conflicts
1145-1210
Initial construction
1561-1576
Reconstruction of the bell tower
1840
First MH ranking
1868-1870
Restoration by the inhabitants
1912
MH upgrade
1944
War damage
1956
New stained glass windows
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Saint Sulpice Church: Order of 12 March 1912

Key figures

Thibauld Ier de Gisors - Lord of Chars Gives his snack share to Saint-Martin de Pontoise (1170).
Rotrou de Warwick - Archbishop of Rouen Confirm the donation in 1170.
Abbé Lecelin - Abbé de Saint-Martin de Pontoise Install the first known priest, Guillaume (1173).
Pierre et Nicolas Le Mercier - Architects (assignment) Design of the Renaissance bell tower (unproven).
Gilles Vivian et Jean Bretel - Craftsmen Construction of the bell tower (1561-1576).
Curé Huan - Curé de Chars Started restoration in 1868.
Jules Formigé - MH Architect Restore the bell tower (1925) and bedside.
Francis Chigot - Master glassmaker Created the windows in 1956.
Abbé Léon Langlais - Last resident priest Died in 2015, 60 years of priesthood.

Origin and history

The church of Saint Sulpice de Chars, located in the Val-d Built in an extended countryside between 1145 and 1210, it illustrates the transition between Romanesque and Gothic styles. His choir, with exceptional elevation on four levels, prefigures the Gothic cathedrals of Picardie. The nave, completed around 1160, features primary dogid vaults and carved capitals of great finesse, inspired by Saint-Denis and Saint-Germer-de-Fly.

In the 16th century, the collapse of the central bell tower led to major changes: the reconstruction of the vaults of the transept and the choir, the modification of the radiant chapels, and the erection of a new Renaissance bell tower (1561-1576) above the south side. This bell tower, attributed to architects Pierre and Nicolas Le Mercier, contrasts with the medieval style of the building. The restorations of the 19th and 20th centuries, often controversial, aim to preserve the authenticity of the monument, despite awkward interventions such as the enhancement of the nave floor in 1870.

Ranked a historic monument in 1840 (declassified in 1845 and reclassified in 1922), the church owes its survival to the commitment of local residents and parish priests, including Abbés Huan, Plaissonnet and Picard. Its modest furnishings include a bell of 1506 and an 18th century rock pulpit. Today attached to the parish of Avernes and Marines, it hosts occasional services and remains a rare testimony of medieval religious architecture in Île-de-France.

The western facade, typically Romanesque, has a carved portal and a 12th century rosette, while the bedside, redesigned, blends Romanesque apsidioles and flamboyant chapels. Modern stained glass windows, created by Francis Chigot in 1956, replace those destroyed in 1944. The church, surrounded by a parvis and dominated by a wooded hillside, marks the historic centre of the village of Chars, in the Regional Natural Park of the French Vexin.

Its homogenous plan, inspired by Saint-Germer-de-Fly, includes a narrow nave, a non-extinguishing transept, a choir to walk around, and five radiant chapels. The four-storey elevation of the choir, rare in France, and the Romanesque rose of 3.45 m in diameter (northern cross) highlight its originality. The restorations of the 20th century, led by Jules Formigé, have consolidated the structures weakened by the vibrations of the trains and the landslides of the plateau.

The Saint Sulpice church embodies both a late Romanesque heritage and early Gothic innovation. Its history reflects the power stakes between the abbeys of Saint-Martin de Pontoise and Saint-Denis, as well as the challenges of its preservation, between state negligence and local initiatives. Today, it remains an emblematic monument of the French Vexin, classified for its architecture and its role in regional religious history.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum