Saint-Médard Church of Fresnes-Mazancourt dans la Somme

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Origin and history

The Saint-Médard church of Fresnes-Mazancourt replaces a 12th century Romanesque building destroyed during the First World War. Its reconstruction, entrusted to architect Louis Duthoit in 1927, was completed in 1931 after delays due to the discovery of saps and galleries under the bell tower. The project aimed to preserve the original Romanesque spirit, both in the materials (white stone on sandstone base) and in the traditional basilical plane.

Louis Duthoit superimposed a Romanesque aesthetic on modern techniques, as evidenced by the slate bell tower and the gate protected by a stone awning. The interior, built between 1931 and 1932, brings together works by local artisans: stone furniture by Marcel Sueur, original stained glass windows by Jean Gaudin (replaced after 1945 by Claude Barre), and a cross road by Gérard Ansart. The sculptor Darras contributed to the statues and baptismal fonts.

The church is part of the post-Great War reconstruction movement, characteristic of devastated areas like Picardia. In the vicinity, Duthoit also erected a monument to the dead in the form of a lantern of the dead, strengthening the memorial link between the building and the conflicts of the twentieth century.

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