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(canton of Duclair, Seine-Maritime)

Church of St Denis

    A former possession of the monks of Jumièges, the church at Duclair still has some very interesting Romanesque features embedded within the 14th, 15th and 16th century constructions. The central vessel of the nave with its exposed timber roof, comprises three late 11th c. bays on two storeys with large semi-circular arcades and tall windows. Four unusual reused pink or green marble columns are inserted in the large arcades. The bay holding up the centre tower dates from the first half of the 12th c., for the arches giving onto the nave and chancel have herringbone or embattled fret ornaments, and mostly gadrooned capitals. Here too is a reused pink marble demi-column with a fine Merovingian grey marble capital. The intersecting rib vault over this part of the church must be original. The rest of the church, chancel and side aisles, is Gothic.
The reused pieces are taken from an earlier monument which, as Jacques Le Maho suggests, could be the Merovingian church of Notre-Dame of Jumièges.

Henry Decaëns

Bibliography

Des Forts, Philippe. - Congrès archéologique de France, LXXXIXe session tenue à Rouen en 1926, p. 573-586. Paris, 1927.