Saint-Gilles Church, Fleurines

The church of Saint-Gilles is a Catholic parish church located in Fleurines, in the department of Oise, France. It is located on one of the roads to Compostela, which explains its first name, and is the successor to a 12th century building, of which only the Romanesque side bell tower, probably truncated, and perhaps the southeast corner buttresses remain. Apart from these elements, it is a flamboyant gothic construction that bears the characteristics of the first quarter of the 16th century. Its great homogeneity testifies to the rapid progress of the construction. It goes hand in hand with a very simple rectangular plan that fits into a rectangle, and a somewhat summary architecture. The decorative effort is practically limited to the main portal and the flamboyant window networks. The sculpted decoration is rare in the interior, and is limited to this portal, two capitals, four cul-de-lampe in the corners and three keystones. The profile of the ribs of the vaults is rustic, and the formal arches are missing. This does not prevent a solid and careful execution. What makes the church of Fleurines interesting is its practically symmetrical double-vessel plan with a flat chevet: it thus takes on the characteristics of a hall-church, of which there is no other representative that corresponds so well to the definition in the north of the historic Île-de-France. Generally, the two vessels do not date from the same period, or are not homogeneous from the chevet to the façade. The church of Saint-Gilles is therefore registered as a historical monument by decree of May 30, 1978. It is now attached to the parish of Sainte-Maxence de Pont-Sainte-Maxence and early Sunday masses are celebrated on the second and fourth Saturday of the month at 6:30 pm from September to June.