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160. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The priory was sold in 1793, during the French Revolution, and the buyer turned the church into a farm building. In an article from the periodical Le Pays de Granville dated December 1976, Jean Bindet recounted that, "after the nationalization of the church properties in November 1789 and the sale of national properties from 1791 on, the priory and dovecote were left abandoned, and their ruins, with the church that had not suffered too much, were sold in 1793 for the sum of 200 francs in banknotes ... The buyer, wanting its purchase to fructify, decided to transform the church into a farm building. The choir of the ancient church became a kitchen with a fireplace built in the apse; the nave became a barn and a stable; the tower itself was used: the base as a cellar, and the floor was divided into a room and an attic, and topped with a chimney." The priory remained a farm for a long time, as evidenced by the cow behind the fence. This old photo was digitized by Claude Rayon. [Claude-48]
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161. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The priory church is still a private property in the late 20th century, but no longer a farm. In cooperation with the (French) Historic Monuments, the owner has turned the nave into a house by opening rectangular windows and revamping the interior. In 1985, date of this photo, the tower and the choir are still in bad shape. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-086]
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162. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The priory church. The nave has become the owner's house in the late 20th century, which explains the rectangular doors and windows. The building has retained its original form though, with a nave strengthened by buttresses and a two-row choir with a flat apse. The tower, between choir and nave, is topped by a saddleback roof. In 1985, the tower and the choir have not been restored yet. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-087]
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163. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The priory church. On this Photo by the 1980s, we still see the stairs leading to the first floor of the tower (they doesn't exist any more), as well as the rectangular openings of the tower and the choir, and the chimney above the choir. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-19]
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164. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The priory church. On this recent Photo by 2009, the large rectangular openings pierced in the choir and the tower have been replaced by small bays of Romanesque style. The stairs leading to the first floor of the tower were removed, like the chimney above the choir. The building is back to its former beauty. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-49]
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165. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The plan of the priory church. Regularly oriented from west to east, the building is formed of a nave and a two-row choir with a flat apse. The whole building has an external length of 32.75 meters and an external width of 9.65 meters (width of the front). The tower rises between choir and nave. Plan by Marie Lebert.
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166. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The Romanesque tower is from the early 12th century. Situated in the extension of the choir, its square base is topped by two floors in slight recess. The first floor was probably blind originally, with openings pierced after the French Revolution. The second floor is opened north, east and south by two twin semi-circular arches. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-088]
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167. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The Romanesque tower. The masonry is made of irregular blocks of schist and granite, with a few rows of regular granite blocks. The saddleback roof rests north and south on a cornice supported by modillions. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-089]
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168. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The Romanesque tower. On three sides - north, east and south - the second floor is adorned with two twin semi-circular arches, with a double grain formed by two rows of granite quoins. The arch rests on plain abutments through a square abacus, that goes on as an horizontal band along the wall. The cornice is supported by modillions carved with rough human heads or molded in quarter-round. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-090]
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169. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The Romanesque tower. The second floor of the tower and its saddleback roof. Two birds are resting. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-51]
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170. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The base of the Romanesque tower and its north wall. This wall is strengthened by a central buttress surrounded by two semi-circular bays with an arch formed by a row of granite quoins. The lowered arch and abutments of the door are made of large blocks of granite. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-091]
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171. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The base of the Romanesque tower and its north wall. The lower part of the wall consists of an opus spicatum (fishbone masonry) characterizing the 11th or early 12th century. The masonry of the upper part of the wall is made of regular blocks of granite. A row of badly damaged modillions is still visible above the bays. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-092]
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172. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The base of the Romanesque tower, and its gate with its semi-circular arch and abutments in granite. The opus spicatum (fishbone masonry) of the masonry is a sign the church is early Romanesque. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-52]
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173. Saint-Léonard-de-Vains. The base of the Romanesque tower. Inside, the tower rests on massive piers. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-53]
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174. Saint-Loup. Location. Saint-Loup (also called Saint-Loup-sous-Avranches) is located south-east of Avranches, only 6 kilometers from the town, in a hilly region close to the granite ground of Avranches, making granite stones easily accessible.
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175. Saint-Loup. The church is the only entirely Romanesque building remaining in the region. Built by the lords of Saint-Loup, the church was under St. Loup's patronage. The second saint is St. Gilles. The parish belonged to the deanery of Tirepied and the archidiachoné of Avranches. The nave has three rows. The north and south walls are strenghtened by four buttresses on each side. Three small semi-circular bays are still visible, two in the south wall and one in the north wall. The other bays were opened or enlarged thereafter. The church was granted the title of (French) Historic Monument in 1921. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-093]
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176. Saint-Loup. The church plan. Regularly oriented from west to east, the building is formed by a two-row nave and a three-row choir with a semi-circular apse. The whole building has an external length of 31 meters and an external width of 8.2 meters (width of the front). The tower rises above the first row of the choir. The north side chapel along the second row of the choir was added in 1602 by the lords of Saint-Loup. Plan by Marie Lebert and Bernard Beck.
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177. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque west front. Strenghtened by two buttresses, the front wall is topped by a slight glacis behind which rises the gable wall. The bay with a triangular arch above the Romanesque gate is probably from the 13th century. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-094]
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178. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque west gate. Its semi-circular arch is formed of two grains surrounded by a archivolt, which is a chamfered band. Each grain has the following moldings: a thick angle torus, a listel, a shallow cavetto and a row of carved hollow saw-teeth. The grains rest on four attached columns. Molded in quarter-round, the capital abaci go on as an horizontal band along the wall. The baskets are carved with rough sculptures: angle hooks or angle heads whose features were erased with the test of time. The square bases are adorned with a torus topping a chamfer carved with barely visible small claws. They rest on a small stone wall going on along the whole length of the front. The lintel is a big monolith block of granite, and it is topped by an opus reticulatum (diamond-shaped masonry) of diamond-shaped stones. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-095]
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179. Saint-Loup. Sketch of the Romanesque west gate. Sketch by Marie Lebert.
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180. Saint-Loup. The south wall of the choir. In the first row, the south gate is flanked by two flat buttresses. Between these buttresses, above the gate, the masonry is supported by a cornice with three large carved modillions. The first modillion is a grotesque human being putting his right hand to his mouth while folding his left arm. The second modillion is a human head. The third modillion is a crouched human being, with his hands on his knees. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-097]
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181. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower rises above the first row of the choir. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-096]
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182. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. The masonry of its walls is made of regular granite blocks, that are smaller than for other parts of the church. The granite was extracted from the granite ground of Avranches, that is close to Saint-Loup. In the foreground, on the right, this buttress belongs to the north side chapel adjacent to the second row of the choir. This chapel was added in 1602 by the lords of Saint-Loup. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-098]
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183. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. This square tower consists of two floors topped by a spire. The first floor is ornated north and south with large blind arcades. The second floor is opened by a bay on each side. The level between the two floors is underlined by a chamfered band. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-099]
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184. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. The upper floor is opened by a bay on each side. This bay is surrounded by a semi-circular arch formed by two grains surrounded by a chamfered band. Each grain is molded with a thick angle torus followed by a listel and a broad shallow cavetto. On both sides of the bay, the grains rest on four small attached columns. The basket capitals are carved with geometric designs — angle hooks, half-circles - or human heads. These baskets are topped with a square abacus going on as a square horizontal band along the wall. The square base of the small columns is topped by a double torus. These bays are similar to the west and south gates, with the same moldings for the grains and similar sculptures for the capital baskets. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-22]
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185. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. The lower floor is adorned north and south by a double blind semi-circular arch toped by a prominent band going on as an horizontal band on the bare wall and then on the east and west sides. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-100]
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186. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. On the lower floor, a small opus reticulatum (diamond-shaped blocks) is present at the corner between the twin arches. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-101]
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187. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. The upper floor is opened by a similar bay on each side. The semi-circular arch of the bays is formed of two grains surrounded by a chamfered band and resting on four small attached columns. The capital baskets are carved with geometric designs such as angle hooks and half-circles, while other baskets are carved with human heads. These bays are similar to the west and south gates, with the same moldings for the grains and similar sculptures for the capital baskets. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-102]
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188. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. The cornice rests on modillions carved with human heads or molded in quarter-round. Most of the cornice was rebuilt during the rebuilding of the octagon spire on a square base, with skylights. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-103]
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189. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque tower. Detail of the cornice and its modillions carved with human heads. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-104]
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190. Saint-Loup. The Romanesque south gate, in the first row of the choir. The semi-circular arch is formed of an grain surrounded by an archivolt made of a chamfered band. The grain is molded with a thick angle torus followed by a listel and a large shallow cavetto. The grain rests on two attached columns. The capital baskets carved with human heads are topped with abaci molded in quarter-round. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-21]
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191. Saint-Loup. Sketch of the Romanesque south gate, in the first row of the choir. Sketch by Marie Lebert.
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192. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. Location. The village of Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme is located 5.5 kilometers south-east of the town of Avranches, in the hills of the river Sélune. Saint-Quentin was situated on the medieval road taken by pilgrims from Tinchebray, Condé-sur-Noireau, Falaise or Lisieux to reach Mont Saint-Michael. The parish of Saint-Quentin was one of the nine parishes around the episcopal church of Avranches, grouped in the deanery of Chrétienté (Christendom). This deanery was part of the archidiachoné of Avranches.
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193. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The large church has a rectangular narthex (wide porch) along the entire length of the front. The base of the tower and the nave are Romanesque - probably from the second half of the 12th century - and have similarities with the church of Saint-Loup. Several parts are from the 13th century: the narthex before the church front, the two floors of the tower, the three-row choir, and finally the south side chapel of the choir. The north side chapel was built later on, in the 15th or 16th century. The walls of the nave still bear the mark of the large bays that were opened in the 18th century to replace the small Romanesque bays. The present bays date from 1951, with a size similar to the original bays. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-105]
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194. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The church plan. Regularly oriented from west to east, the building is formed of a three-row nave and a three-row choir with a flat apse. The whole building has an external length of 47 meters and an external width of 9.6 meters (width of the front). North and south, two large chapels are adjacent to the first two rows of the choir. They are so large that they look like transept arms. The tower is between choir and nave. The church front has a narthex (wide porch) on its entire length. Plan by Marie Lebert.
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195. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The large tower, between choir and nave, rests on four thick piers that receive east and west two semi-circular arches with a double ring. The row between choir and nave is topped by a groin vault with an oblong plan. In the foreground, the wooden barrel vault of the nave was rebuilt in 1926 and 1927. The nave pavings were laid in 1929. The church walls were covered with lime plaster in 1953. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-24]
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196. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The large tower has a Romanesque base and two floors from the 13th century, with a saddleback roof. In the foreground rises a Romanesque wayside cross. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-106]
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197. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. Detail of the Romanesque wayside cross situated near the church. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-107]
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198. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The church front is adorned on its entire length with a rectangular narthex (wide porch) from the 13th century, topped by a balustrade with an openwork design. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-108]
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199. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The Romanesque gate of the church front. This gate is surrounded by a semi-circular two-groin arch and an archivolt. The grains rest on four attached columns, with square bases adorned with a torus topped by a chamfer. The capitals baskets are carved with balls, heads with a prominent chin, and a human being on all fours. These rough sculptures are in high relief. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-109]
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200. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. The tower base and its Romanesque gate. This walled-up gate is similar to the south gate of the church of Saint-Loup. His semi-circular arch is formed by a grain surrounded by an archivolt with a chamfered band. The grain is molded with a thick angle torus followed by a listel and a shallow cavetto. The grain rests on two thick columns through a band modled in quarter-round forming the abacus of the capitals and going on along the bare wall. The capital baskets are carved with a tree on the right and two human heads on the left. The bases are square. The left base is topped with a chamfer adorned with tiny triangular claws and a torus. The right base is topped by a double torus. The tympanum is formed by a large monolith block of granite resting on inside abutments through a band molded in quarter-round. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-110]
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201. Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme. Sketch of the south gate, that is walled-up at the base of the tower. Sketch by Marie Lebert.
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202. Sartilly. Location. The town of Sartilly is located on the road between Granville and Avranches, 15 kilometers south of Granville and 11 kilometers north of Avranches. Sartilly was on the medieval road going from Saint-Lô to Mont Saint-Michel, the final destination for many pilgrims. The parish of Sartilly belonged to the deanery of Genêts and the archidiachoné of Avranches. The church is under St. Pair's patronage.
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203. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate was the west gate of the Romanesque church, and is now the south gate of the church that replaced it. The Romanesque church, which was ready to collapse, was demolished and replaced in 1858 by a much larger building of Gothic inspiration. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-10]
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204. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The capital baskets are carved with various designs like oak leaves, acanthus leaves, scrolls framing an acanthus leaf at the corner, or corner curls. The sculptures, carved in high relief in granite, are much more elegant than in any other small church in the region. The square base of the columns is topped by a double torus. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-11]
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205. Sartilly. The old Romanesque church, demolished in 1858, in a drawing from the journal Revue de l'Avranchin dated 1924-1926. This church was described in the Minute Book of the City Council (Registre des Délibérations du Conseil Municipal) of Sartilly of 1837-1864: "The church we should replace is an old building (...) composed of: 1) a dark nave which is 19 meters and 60 centimeters long and 7 meters wide, with the lower part of its walls soaked with moisture and cracked in several places, and not standing straight anymore, particularly towards the end of the church; 2) a tower between the nave and the choir (...); 3) a choir which is 9 meters long and 6 meters wide (...)." Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-118]
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206. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate is in granite, which is the local stone, Sartilly being located at the heart of the granite ground of Vire. This gate, probably from the second half of the 12th century, is the most beautiful Romanesque gate in the region. The moldings of the arch and archivolt are the result of meticulous work, as well as the sculptures of the capital baskets, with oak leaves, acanthus leaves and scrolls. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-111]
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207. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. Sketch of the arch, the archivolt and a column. This gate, which was the west gate of the Romanesque church, is now the south gate of the church that replaced it. Sketch by Marie Lebert.
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208. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The arch of the gate is formed of three grains: a grain with a lower centering, and two semi-circular grains surmounted by a archivolt. The first grain is molded with a thick angle torus followed by a listel and a large cavetto adorned with large and slightly rounded bezants. The second grain is molded with a thick angle torus. The third grain is molded with two tori surrounding a listel. The archivolt is a prominent cordon ornated with saw-teeth in high relief carved with a hollow row of triangular sticks. It rests on both sides on two carved heads with well designed features. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-112]
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209. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The left columns. On each side of the gate, the three grains rest on three attached columns through an impost molded with a cavetto. The square part of the impost is adorned with a small hollow molding. The impost goes on above the external pier supporting the archivolt. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-113]
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210. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The left side of the archivolt. The archivolt is formed by a band adorned with saw-teeth in high relief carved with a row of triangular sticks. On either side of the arch, it rests on a head carved in the granite. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-114]
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211. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The left side of the archivolt. Detail showing the same carved head, in profile. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-115]
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212. Sartilly. The Romanesque gate. The right side of the archivolt. Detail showing the second carved head on which the archivolt rests. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-116]