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Origin and history

The church Saint-Martin de Gilocourt, located in the Oise department in the Hauts-de-France region, is a religious building whose construction begins in the middle of the 12th century. It is dedicated to Saint Martin de Tours and originally comes under the Diocese of Soissons. The nave, of primitive Gothic style, dates from the years 1160-1170, while the eastern parts, of flamboyant Gothic style, were rebuilt in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The building is marked by a contrasting architecture: an austere western facade and a nave not arched, but from the sides and a luminous choir, vaulted and adorned with flamboyant networks.

The church suffered degradation during the French Revolution, especially in 1793, when it was transformed into a saltpetre factory. The beautiful stained glass windows of the choir, dated 1534, were then transferred to the church of Saint-Antoine de Compiègne. After the Concordat of 1801, the church was rehabilitated and reopened to worship. It was listed as a historical monument in 1948, with the cemetery surrounding it, and was restored in the 1990s. Today, it is affiliated with the parish of the autumn valley and hosts Sunday Masses every two months.

The interior of the church reveals a nave with large elegant arcades, adorned with capitals carved with various patterns such as water leaves or Gothic hooks. The lower sides, wider than the nave, are flooded with light thanks to large bay windows. The choir, of trapezoidal plane, forms a liturgical space unified with its collaterals, vaulted at the same height. Outside, the building features flamboyant Gothic side elevations, while the more sober western façade retains a primitive Gothic portal.

The church furniture includes several classified or inscribed elements, including 13th century baptismal fonts, a bell of 1654, and polychrome wooden statues of the 15th and 16th centuries. Among the remarkable pieces are a 17th century baroque tabernacle from the former Ursulines convent of Crépy-en-Valois, and reliquaries dedicated to Saint Prix. The church also houses fragments of Renaissance stained glass windows, although most of the original stained glass windows have disappeared.

The history of the parish of Gilocourt remains unclear, but its existence has been attested since the twelfth century. Under the Ancien Régime, she was dependent on the dean of Béthisy and the archdiaconé of La Rivière. After the Revolution, Gilocourt was attached to the diocese of Beauvais and then to the diocese of Amiens before returning to Beauvais in 1822. The church, now in good condition, continues to play a central role in local religious life, despite the mysteries surrounding some of its features, such as the presence of Celtic crosses in the cemetery.

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