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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Catholic parish church Saint-Martin de Jouy-en-Josas, located in the Yvelines department in Île-de-France, was built in the 16th century on the foundations of a 13th century primitive church. The present building, consecrated in 1549, preserves medieval elements such as the base of the bell tower and the lateral walls of the choir. The church, which fell into ruins after the Hundred Years' War and epidemics of plague, was rebuilt thanks to the protection of John d'Escoubleau, local lord, whose family had its tomb in the collateral.

The interior is distinguished by a main nave and a lateral nave, separated by warhead arches and covered with vaults. A painted frieze, or funeral liter, adorns the walls, displaying the coat of arms of the patron lords, including the family of Escoubleau de Sourdis. The stained glass windows, created by Paul Nicod in 1858 and completed in 1986 by Annie and Patrick Confetti, illustrate religious scenes and the life of the saints, including Saint Martin, patron saint of the church.

The jewel of the church is La Diège, a 12th century wooden child's Virgin, originally from a chapel in the hamlet of Viltain. Saved during the Revolution after being hidden in a wall, it was restored in 1863 under the direction of Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. This Romanesque sculpture, with rigid folds and unusual iconography (the Child Jesus carried by angels), was once an object of pilgrimage.

The furniture includes 16th-century stalls, a commemorative plaque of 1549 engraved with hagiographic scenes (Saint Martin, Saint Roch, Saint Sebastian), and an 18th-century confessional designed by Louis-François Trouard, from the cathedral of Versailles. The organ, built in 1872 by John Abbey with ancient elements, was restored in 1974.

Ranked a historic monument in 1950, the church underwent major restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries, notably to repair post-revolutionary degradation. Its bell tower, initially self-supporting, dominates the south side, while the west façade has a Renaissance portal framed with columns.

The archives mention a preliminary project to restore the façade by the Vaudoyer family, whose realization remains uncertain. The building, owned by the commune, bears witness to the architectural and religious evolutions of the region, from medieval pilgrimages to modern transformations.

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