Église Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens et Saint-Étienne

Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens-et-Saint-Étienne, or Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens, is a Catholic parish church located in Brignancourt, in the French department of Val-d'Oise. It is a modest building of mostly Romanesque and early Gothic style, which joins an unvaulted nave of the late eleventh century to a choir of two bays ended by a flat chevet, and was completed later, in the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century, by a cross to the south of the first bay of the choir. This served as a base for the bell tower, which remained unfinished because of its insufficient counterbearing. The most remarkable elements on the exterior are the late Romanesque portal, which is surrounded by a row of broken sticks continuing on the jambs, and surmounted by a squared tympanum, as well as the Beauvaisine cornice of the bell tower and the choir. The crossing is lit by a large bay with a late radiant style filling, which announces the transition to the flamboyant style. More discreet are the monolithic lintels with simulated keystones of the small Romanesque bays with simple splaying, of which four examples remain on the south side of the nave, and two on the north side. Inside, the choir has carefully constructed ribbed vaults. If the capitals of the first bay seem unfinished, those in the corners of the chevet are on the contrary of a good level and of original workmanship. To the south, there is a rare liturgical pool with a double basin, which should not be earlier than the 1220's. In recognition of its age and its many interesting details, the church of Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens was classified as a historical monument by decree of November 19, 1910, and restored in several campaigns. It is now affiliated with the parish of Avernes et Marines, and hosts Sunday masses three times a year.