Church of Our Lady, Théméricourt

Notre-Dame Church is a Catholic parish church located in Théméricourt, Val-d'Oise, France. Its oldest parts are the transept crossing and the bell tower up to the belfry floor, and can be dated to the period between 1150 and 1180. The style reflects the transition from Romanesque to Gothic, as evidenced by the capitals of the four arcades around the square of the transept and west of the choir. The side chapels of the choir and the nave were built only later, after the church was given to the priory of Saint-Lô in Rouen in 1205. Here the architecture is characteristic of the Gothic period, but the alterations are numerous. In the chapels, they are explained by repairs following the Hundred Years War and the installation of altarpieces in front of the chevet. In the nave, the main change occurred with its vaulting of ogives in the Renaissance style, under the lord Achim d'Abos, between 1568 and 1609. The vaults, with richly decorated keys, fall on brackets engaged in the pillars above the capitals of the early thirteenth century, which is a rather rare arrangement. The high windows of the nave have since been closed, and the 13th-century wall paintings above the triumphal arch are also hidden from public view. As a whole, the church is an interesting testimony of rural architecture in the French Vexin. It was classified as a historical monument by decree of May 7, 1929, but only benefited from some minor restoration work. Today, the state of the building is worrying. Notre-Dame church is affiliated to the parish of Avernes et Marines, and Sunday masses are celebrated only twice a year.