Sainte-Marie-du-Mont (canton of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, Manche) Church of Notre-Dame

    At the heart of the Plain, the church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont is located on a promontory that dominates they entire Bay of Veys. It was built in the 11^th century, and significant campaigns of works were carried out on it during the period from the 14^th to the 19^th century which have changed its outline, especially touching the choir, side chapels and tower.
The long Romanesque nave with four bays opens onto a protruding transept extended by a choir with three bays and adjoining the aisles through large arches resting on solid cruciform pillars with sculpted capitals. The aisles are vaulted with groins, separated by large double arches.
The south crossing of the transept retains a Romanesque window and large broken arch decorated with a crenelated fretted design. The crossing of the transepts is delimited by four large composite pillars whose capitals have a Romanesque decoration and present historiated scenes (a bishop bringing down a dragon, and Christ at the Last Judgement).
On the outside, Romanesque buttresses remain at the corners of the south wing of the transept and against the west façade of the nave. These in turn frame four tall, wide windows each of which is surmounted by a series of six cornice brackets.

Bibliography

- Baylé, Maylis. " Sainte-Marie-du-Mont : Eglise Notre-Dame ", dans L’architecture normande au Moyen-Age , Condé-sur-Noireau :Editions Charles Corlet, Caen : Presses universitaires de Caen, 1997, T. II, p. 105 à 107
- Musset, Lucien. – Normandie romane, I, Basse-Normandie, Zodiaque, La Pierre-Qui-Vire, 1987, p. 41
- Ponthaud, Marie-Suzanne (de). Baylé, Maylis. Galbrun, Brigitte. " L’Église Notre-Dame de l’Assomption de Sainte-Marie-du-Mont ", Art de Basse-Normandie, 3^ème trimestre 1998, n° 115, 69 p
- Les siècles romans en Basse-Normandie, Art de Basse-Normandie, n° 92, Printemps 1985, p. 120
- Since, Marie-Hélène. Art roman dans l’est du Cotentin , Art de Basse-Normandie, n° 68, 1^er trimestre 1976, 28 p