St. Martin's Church, Ermenonville
Facts and practical information
The Saint-Martin church is a Catholic parish church located in Ermenonville, in the Oise department, in France.
Ermenonville was established as a parish by the chapter of Notre-Dame de Senlis in 1213. The construction of the church had begun as early as 1170 / 1180 with the bell tower, but was interrupted thereafter, and the vaulting of the choir was certainly not completed before the second quarter of the 13th century. The entire choir belongs to the first Gothic period.
In the 14th century, a new nave was begun, but it is likely that the Hundred Years' War did not allow the vaulting to proceed. In 1528, the parishioners decided on a major repair program for the church, mainly for the choir and the roofs. Six years later, they wanted to give the church a new nave. This work lasted from 1534 to 1540, which was not very long, since the large 14th century arches were maintained. The vaults of the nave and the side aisles, almost entirely rebuilt, display the flamboyant gothic style. Some windows were redone a little later.
In 1614 / 1615, the lord Méry de Vic endowed the sanctuary with a representative altarpiece, with a painting of the Charity of Saint-Martin, patron saint of the church. On May 25, 1625, Dominique de Vic was consecrated Archbishop of Corinth in the church of Saint-Martin.
Between 1883 and 1886, the church underwent a major restoration program, which partly removed the authenticity of the monument, but overall respected the original arrangements. These works are largely financed by Prince Constant Radziwiłł and his wife Princess Louise, née Blanc, who also offer the church a rich neo-Gothic furniture of high quality.
The church was definitively classified as a historical monument by decree of October 14, 1911. Today it is part of the parish of Notre-Dame de la Visitation du Haudouin, and Sunday masses are celebrated there almost every week, either on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. in winter or on the fourth Sunday of the month the rest of the time, or on Saturday evenings.
Hauts-de-France