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Key figures

Origin and history

The Sainte-Anne de Baby church, located 10 km east of Bray-sur-Seine in Seine-et-Marne, finds its origins in the 13th century as a seigneurial chapel. It became a parish building in 1640, during which time it was probably enlarged, as indicated by the engraved date (1659) above the gate. The choir, the oldest part, houses in 1641 the burial of Françoise de Melun, wife of the local lord. The lack of a precise date for his dedication to St. Anne remains a mystery.

The church architecture reflects the economic constraints of the rural parish. The nave, built in chalk and flint damier between 1640 and 1659, is a local but typical rarity of the Bassée (valley of the Seine between Nogent-sur-Seine and Montereau). In the 18th century, a rotunda mausoleum was added for Alexis-Jean Durand de Lagny, marked by a black marble plate. Work continued in the 19th century: reconstruction of the bell tower (1839), replacement of the rotunda vault with a frame, and addition of a sacristy.

The interior furniture, mostly inscribed with historical monuments, illustrates the religious art of the 17th and 18th centuries. Among the notable pieces are a Christ in a polychrome wooden cross, a sculpted group of the Education of the Virgin by Saint Anne (dated 1768), and an antiphonary of 1762 decorated with lily flowers and musical ranges. The nave preserves 18th century turned wooden benches, while the choir houses a 1748 altarpiece and remains of a rocky tabernacle. These elements reflect local piety and successive restoration campaigns.

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