Moulines (Canton of Bretteville-sur-Laize, Calvados) Church of Saint-Laurent-de-Fontaine-Halbout

       The church is characterised by two Romanesque features : the bricked-up doorway of the northern wall of the nave and a side bell tower located between the nave and the chancel.
The square tower dates back to the end of the twelfth century. Built on two levels, it is surmounted by a stone pyramid, dated later. The lower part of the bell tower, with dressed stonework walls, is reinforced by angled buttresses. The second level is decorated on each side with three blind arches, which are slightly damaged. The arches, formed with well-placed point-work, rest on narrow capitals, forming a contrast to the dressed stone walls. There are openings onto each side of the central arcade. The angles of this first level are ornamented with a narrow column on each side. The cornice is decorated with a succession of double festoons, from which hang a series of grotesque heads. The main doorway is formed in an arch, resting on two fairly large stone plinths with intermediary drop panels. The archway comprises an archivolt, and an arc decorated with several rows of chevrons, some of which are beaded.
The building has long since been disused.

Bibliography

- Caumont Arcisse (de), Statistique monumentale du Calvados, Hardel, Caen, 1859.
T. 4, p. 520-521
- Dictionnaire des églises de France, T. IV b