Origin and history
The Saint-Martin church of Frouville, located in the Val-d This bell tower, of square plan and decorated with plated arches typical of Norman style, is surmounted by a stone arrow dated from the years 1120-1140. Its belfry floor, decorated with geminied berries and carved capital columnettes, stands out from the traditional Romanesque bell towers of the French Vexin.
Between 1220 and 1240, the church was profoundly remodeled in Gothic style. The current choir, composed of two spans and an apse with cut strips, was built during this period, accompanied by an almost identical southern apse, probably intended to serve as a seigneurial chapel for the family of L-Isle-Adam. The nave, not arched and accompanied by bottoms, was rebuilt before 1240, while its frame in overturned hull, adorned with carved sandstones representing foliage and hunting scenes, dates from the 15th century. These elements reflect an economic execution, visible in the simplicity of the pillars and the absence of mouluration on some arcades.
In the last quarter of the 13th century, a large square chapel was added north of the choir, exceeding its dimensions. It is distinguished by its radiant Gothic-shaped windows, unique in the church, and a five-pointed arch. This chapel, like the rest of the building, underwent controversial restorations, especially in 1925, where the southern abside was inadequately transformed, with black cement joints and capitals redone without respect for the original models. These interventions, although criticized, were aimed at restoring a state close to the original, according to experts such as Bernard Duhamel.
Under the Ancien Régime, the church was part of the diocese of Beauvais, and its tithe belonged to the Prior of L-Isle-Adam. There is no record of its initial construction, but archaeological analysis is used to identify the works. The bell tower, the oldest part, is followed by the Gothic choir (c. 1220), the southern apse (seigneurial chapel), then the nave and the lower side (before 1240). The northern chapel, added later, completes the whole. The church, which was listed as a historical monument in 1925, is now part of the parish of Nesles-la-Vallée and only hosts Sunday Masses on time.
The outside of the church reveals a carefully executed Romanesque bell tower made of cut stone, with flat buttresses and decorative arches on the middle floor. The octagonal arrow, covered with saw teeth, is bounded by four bells. The western facade, rebuilt in 1896, retains an oculus and a gate without ornamentation. The eastern parts, made of cut stone, have archaic foothills and various cornices, while the southern abside, although restored, retains a remarkable plan, reproducing that of the choir.
Inside, the nave is characterized by a panelled frame and sandstones carved with flamboyant Gothic motifs. The large arcades, with double rollers, fall on trapus pillars, some without capitals. The choir, vaulted dogives, features offending columnettes and hooked capitals, while the northern chapel offers a radiant remplage and a thin warhead vault. Despite the questionable restorations, the church preserves classified furniture, such as a Christ on the cross of the 15th-XVIth century and funerary slabs of the 16th and 17th centuries, testimonies of its rich historical and artistic past.
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