Saint-Marcouf (canton of Montebourg, Manche) Church of Saint-Marcouf

    St Marcouf is located on the final slope of the eastern Cotentin region facing the small islands where Abbot Marcouf established his hermitage, before founding a monastery on the site of the current church. The Abbey of St Wandrille owned the church in the 11th century, before the Abbey of Cerisy re-established a priory here before 1093.
The nave of the church is Romanesque in structure, without particular characteristics. The tower, which is located on the south side, was built at the beginning of the 12th century. This is a tower of square plan on three stages with a pitched roof. It consists of a base without openings, a second stage ornamented with a series of blind arches and two twin openings on each face of the third stage. Flat buttresses of different heights have been built on each corner.
The rib-vaulted crypt dates from the 11th century. It is of special interest in that there are only three others in Basse-Normandie, at Orval, Bayeux and the abbey church of the Trinity in Caen.

Bibliography

- Musset, Lucien. Normandie romane, T. 1, La Pierre-qui-Vire, Zodiaque, 1967, p. 41
- Les siècles romans en Basse-Normandie, Art de Basse-Normandie, n° 92, Printemps 1985, p.114
- Since, Marie-Hélène. " Art roman dans l’est du Cotentin ", Art de Basse-Normandie, n° 68, 1^er trimestre 1976, 28 p