Norrey-en-Auge (Canton of Morteaux-Couliboeuf, Calvados) Church of Sainte-Anne

   The church of Sainte-Anne of Norrey-en-Auge was built at the foot of the first hills of the Pays d’Auge in c. 1050 on the lands of the powerful family of Grandmesnil, founders of the abbey of Saint-Évroult-en-Ouche.
The walls are bonded at various points in fish bone pattern (opus spicatum) and date from the 11^th century. The entrance is via a 14^th century porch and a portal with three vaults from the 13^th century. The nave with four bays is flanked by aisles. The elevation is on two levels. The first retains Romanesque full arches which descend onto alternating columns and quadrangular pillars topped by a simple block, with the exception of a capital with cable moulding and scrolls. The second level is an additional gothic elevation. To the right of each pier there were formerly Romanesque windows. The Romanesque transept has been extensively re-worked. At the crossing, four full arches support a massive quadrangular tower.
But the most remarkable element of the church is the arch which opens out onto the choir. It is a double roll arch and its internal roll rests on columns seated in front of pilasters supporting the external roll. These archaic columns with their gentle bulge are topped by almost cubic capitals which are decorated, on the left by heads in relief of clumsy workmanship, and on the right with an obituary inscription commemorating the scholar Osbern, who died on 27 May.
On the side walls of the nave, 12^th century frescoes, representing the entry of Christ into Jerusalem and the Adoration of the Magi, can still be seen. The upper parts of the nave and the choir also show traces of painted fresco decoration.
Fragments of stained glass from the 12^th century were collected in the 19^th century into the final left side window.

Bibliography

- Baylé, Maylis. " Norrey-en-Auge : Eglise Sainte-Anne ", dans : L’architecture normande au Moyen-Age, éditions Charles Corlet, Condé-sur-Noireau, Presses universitaires de Caen, Caen, 1997, T. 2, p. 22-23
- Guillaume le Conquérant et son temps, Art de Basse-Normandie, n° 97, Hiver 1987-1988, p. 102
- Musset, Lucien. " L’église de Norrey-en-Auge ", dans Le Pays d’Auge, XX, 1970, p. 3 à 13
- Musset, Lucien. - Normandie romane, La Pierre-Qui-Vire, Zodiaque, 1987, T. 1, p. 36
- Serbat, L. " L’église de Norrey-en-Auge ", dans Bulletin de la Société des Antiquaires de France, 1912, p. 299 à 303
- Les siècles romans en Basse-Normandie, Art de Basse-Normandie, n° 92, Printemps 1985, p. 92