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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-du-Val chapel, located in Tilly-sur-Seulles in Calvados, is a Catholic religious building built in the 12th century, more precisely in its second half according to the observations of Arcisse de Caumont. The circumstances of its foundation remain unknown, but its architecture, including archvolts decorated with zigzags and ogival windows, bears witness to its historical importance. At the end of the 14th century, five chaplains served there, reduced to two after 1712. The building, already degraded in the 19th century, lost its western tower and was decommissioned for secular purposes (gateyard, stable) before being damaged during the Battle of Tilly-sur-Seulles (June 1944).

Renamed the Church of Saint Francis in the 18th century, the chapel was classified as a Historic Monument in 1963 despite its state of ruin. His restoration in 1974, impulsed by Raymond Triboulet and financed by the department, gave him a new vocation: museum of the Battle of 1944. The preserved remains, such as the low vaulted lintel and the models reported by Caumont, make it a remarkable site, although partially destroyed.

Today, the chapel belongs to the commune and serves as a place of memory, illustrating both the Norman medieval heritage and the scars of the Second World War. Its inscription as historical monuments and its location on the street of 18 June 1944 underline its dual heritage, religious and military. The sources, including the works of Arcisse de Caumont (1846), confirm its architectural interest despite the vagaries of its history.

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