Church of Our Lady of the Nativity

Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativité church is a Catholic parish church located in Blaincourt-lès-Précy, in the Oise department, France. It is a simple and homogeneous building of flamboyant gothic style. The contrast between the typically flamboyant network of windows and the flat modenature of the vault ribs suggests that the exterior walls date from the late 15th century, and that the vaults were built after the fact, during the second half of the 16th century, but this is not certain: the church may as well date entirely from the mid-16th century. The bell tower is the only element that can be dated with certainty, as its "foundation stone" bears the date 1782. The exterior of the church is austere and without much character. The interior is distinguished by its effect close to a Gothic crypt, apart from the lighting which is abundant, thanks to three parallel vessels of identical height, and a nave barely wider than the side aisles. It is the originality of its interior layout that makes the church of Blaincourt so interesting. The decoration is inspired by the Renaissance, but is limited to discreet capitals influenced by the Doric order, and some hanging keystones. The furnishings include a few old statues. The church of Notre-Dame was registered as a historical monument by order of October 18, 1971. It has not yet benefited from an interior restoration since that date. It is affiliated with the parish of Saint-Louis de Précy-sur-Oise.