St. Martin's Church

Saint-Martin Church is a Catholic parish church located in Cauvigny, in the Oise department of France. Its foundation dates back to at least the 11th century, and the southern wall of the nave includes remains from that period. Otherwise, the church is mainly in the Flamboyant Gothic style, and dates mostly from the first third of the 16th century, but it has interesting elements from two 12th century building campaigns. These are firstly three archaic rib vaults from the 1140s, without their supports, in the north aisle; secondly the south crossing from the 1150s / 1160s, which was taken over in the flamboyant period; and above all an elegant octagonal bell tower from the end of the 12th century with a lantern topped by a stone spire, which is one of the finest representatives of this type of bell tower in the region. The bell tower, the south cross, the polygonal stair turret and the high apse from the 1520s form a picturesque ensemble. Inside, the architecture of the choir is quite remarkable, especially for its octagonal plan. The first bay opens from the base of the bell tower, and its walls gradually spread out to achieve a greater width from the intermediate double arch. There are no windows in this bay, but large arches provide communication with the side chapels. The second bay is a canted apse, very bright thanks to four high windows with transparent glass. The vaults are decorated with liernes and tiercerons, and their ribs merge into undulating pillars engaged in the walls, which are provided with curious pseudo-Corinthian capitals. As for the other parts of the church, they offer a rare complexity, with many intertwined building campaigns, which is particularly evident around the base of the bell tower. Nevertheless, the nave and its side aisle appear quite homogeneous at first glance. The church of Saint-Martin was classified as a historical monument by decree of October 20, 1920, and has since undergone a complete restoration. It is now affiliated with the parish of Saint-Yves-d'Auteuil of the Noailles region, which covers twenty-three communes, and masses are only rarely celebrated there.