Saint-Germain-Village (canton of Pont-Audemer, Eure) Church of St Germain

    Although a simple parish church, Saint-Germain is probably one of the rare surviving expressions of monastic architecture of the period of William the Conqueror in the Eure region. The size of the church, its quality and austerity could have been inspired by the Benedictines of the neighbouring abbey of Saint-Pierre de Préaux who were its patrons from time of their foundation in c. 1035.

The building was reduced in size in the Restoration period and rebuilt around 1900 when, amongst other things, the Romanesque elements of the nave and the doorway of the church of Notre-Dame-du-Pré in Pont-Audemer (now no longer in existence) were re-used in the west facade.

The austerity of the nave and aisles, with very simple arcades, the quality and beauty of the stonework, the plainness of its decoration, and purity of its architectural lines, denote the last quarter of the 11th century, as is the case with the spacious transepts and crossing which supports a square tower. The eastern part could date from c. 1100. The plain exterior matching the interior is slightly softened by a long series of figured corbels.

Bibliography

- Musset, Lucien. Normandie romane, 2. Haute-Normandie, Zodiaque, La Pierre-qui-Vire, 1974, p. 34-35