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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption of Tamerville, built from the 11th century on the initiative of a lord of Ciphervast, replaces an early chapel that had disappeared. Its construction, interrupted by Norman invasions in the 9th century, resumed around 1070 with workers brought back from England. The octagonal bell tower, typical of the 12th century, and the Romanesque nave, redesigned in the 17th and 18th centuries, bear witness to this turbulent history.

In the 13th century, a lateral chapel dedicated to St.James was added to the left of the choir by Jacques d'Anneville, lord of Ciphervast, as a funeral chapel. The 15th century saw major changes, including the ogival vaulting of the choir and its flat bedside. The Romanesque modillons, the blocked windows of the nave, and the remains of the south door decorated with billets recall the medieval origin of the building.

Ranked a historic monument in 1906, the church houses remarkable furniture: a 15th century Pietà, 18th century painted altarpieces, and 15th and 16th century murals. Modern works, such as the addition of glass windows in 1982 after the cartons of Michel Gigon, or the restoration of the nave in 1972, perpetuate its evolution. A relic of Saint Sulpice, shared with Fresville, strengthens his local spiritual anchor.

The bell tower, on a square base, is distinguished by its octagonal two-storey tower, decorated with blind windows and crenellated frets. Built of limestone probably from the quarries of Yvetot-Bocage, this structure illustrates Norman Romanesque art. The nave, extended by two lateral chapels in 1855, preserves traces of its transformations, such as the modillon cornices and the sculpted triumphal arch of a deer hunting scene.

The church is also marked by baroque additions, such as the portal of 1755 surmounted by a statue of Saint Mayeul, or the lateral altars of the eighteenth century trompe-l'oeil. Its history reflects the architectural and religious evolutions of Normandy, from Viking invasions to modern times, through the wars of Religion and post-medieval reconstructions.

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