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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Saint-Sulpice church of Saint-Sulpice-sur-Risle has its origins in a priory founded in the 11th century, dependent on Saint-Laumer Abbey of Blois. From that time, a chapel was attested, linked to Engenouf, lord of the Eagle (died at the Battle of Hastings in 1066), which made it its burial place. In the 12th century, a parish church was built west of the priory, the two buildings being separated only by a narrow passage. The present building is the result of their union in 1787, after the suppression of the adjoining walls, explaining the disaxement between nave and choir. A bell tower was then added to harmonize the whole.

The priory was entrusted to the Jesuits from 1619 to 1762, during which time the site was expanded, particularly in the 15th century. The transformations include a western facade flanked by an octagonal foreground and a arch of wood panelled, decorated with 15th century painted motifs. The murals of that time, including a final Judgment covering the Western Wall, the nave and the choir, are among the most remarkable elements. After the Jesuits were expelled in 1762, the priory was attached by letters patent of Louis XV to the College of Orleans until the Revolution.

The church, classified as a historical monument in 1988 (including its paintings in the process of restoration), also preserves a small 16th century prioral building, rebuilt in the 19th century. This site illustrates almost a thousand years of religious and architectural history, mixing Romanesque, Gothic and classical heritage. The murals, gradually rediscovered, offer a rare testimony of Norman medieval art, while the very structure of the building reveals the successive adaptations related to its prior and parish use.

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