The Church of Moreuil
The history of the church is closely linked to that of the abbey of Saint-Vast de Moreuil. Around the year 1100, the lords of Moreuil gave a domain to clear to Benedictine monks of the abbey of Breteuil. For want of material prosperity, there was no abbey church built, and until 1394 there was only a simple chapel.
It was in the second half of the 16th century, when the Créquy family owned Moreuil, that the authors agreed to fix the date of construction of the church whose portal and bell tower were completely destroyed in 1918. The building of the church was undoubtedly due to the munificence of Cardinal de Créquy, Abbé de Moreuil. The portal was of transition style, consisting of two rather deep pointed porches with six arches. It was, moreover, the most beautiful piece of architecture, classified, that the city possessed.
In 1574, the body of Cardinal Antoine de Créquy was buried in the church choir. This one by will left funds for the installation of 4 new bells. The church was burned in 1636 by the Spanish and partially destroyed. By 1670, the restoration of the choir entrusted to the religious had not yet been completed. In 1768, the church was the object of new restorations and the first stone was laid by Catherine de Rougé, Duchess of Elboeuf.
In 1791, the abbey was abolished and the choir and nave were reunited until 1863. On this date, Mr. Dean Voclin undertook major works to build the right side nave, elevate the church and make a solid vault and stone pillars. We can read on the first pillar on the left the name of the sculptors: "3 Mallot & Bandin". In 1870, the main altar was given by the children of Monsieur Charles Deflandre, Barguillier. In 1874, the church restored by Bishop Bataille was consecrated.
Its interior was transformed in 1868. To give more harmony to the building, on the right, a third alley was added. Only some old parts of the choir and side chapels had been preserved. From destruction to reconstruction
The building was severely damaged in 1918. When, in 1919, the architects Duval and Gonse came for the first time to Moreuil, they found only ruins of the church.The bell tower of the 12th and 13th centuries was crushed, and only a heap of rubble indicated its location. The facade was devastated, the vaults of the naves were slashed; the broken frame was hanging miserably. The ground uneven by the shells, was littered with rubble. And even it was not without danger to venture into these remains, stones, slates and rafters continuing to break away under the action of the wind.
In 1923, the municipality led by Raymond Cartier asked these two architects to rebuild its church.
The choir and naves, already restored and rebuilt around 1860 in the gothic style of the time, were repairable. The facade and the bell tower, on the other hand, were forever destroyed.A few piously preserved carved stones could only be sheltered. How to rebuild this part of the building, and in what style? this was the problem that arose.
Each epoch having its architecture, its materials, its workforce, it was difficult and without interest to redo the facade in the style that presented the parts of the church saved from the disaster. It is also rare that a building of this importance has been executed with a single jet, most bear the trace of different eras. The architects took, without hesitation, the party of a modern architecture. Public opinion was difficult to convince, but it eventually rallied to the suggestions of men of art. They therefore did for the facade, the architecture of their time. They used reinforced concrete with brick filling, brick being the material of the country. They wanted to observe the French tradition by performing reminders of religious architecture by buttresses, arrows, external stairs and also the local tradition by keeping the bell tower its primitive location. The only change they made in the plan was to move the facade back a span to facilitate external traffic, the church still being large enough for the needs of the population.
It was on February 6, 1929, that the demolition work began. The first concrete shovel of the bell tower was poured the following July and on May 14, 1931, the Ascension Day, the church was blessed.
The numerous bones that the builders found in the church, during the work, were collected with respect in a vast coffin in reinforced concrete. The location of this sarcophagus would have been entirely indicated in the chapel of the dead as in the church of Saint Pierre de Roye, but under the High Altar was a crypt made in the fifteenth century for the tomb of the Cardinal de Créquy, This is where the architects preferred to place the remains of the buried Christians over the years in the church. Zoom in on
The bell tower
Square at the base and octagonal at the top, the bell tower is 62 metres high at the cross and 23 metres to the first platform. Above it, there is a room containing the 4 big bells and, even higher, a smaller one reserved for the carillon. The reinforced concrete soundboards are made of honeycomb motifs. This tower is flanked by an openwork turret that contains a snail staircase leading to the interior floors and exterior terraces and extending to the bell chamber.
The entrance porch
At the very centre of the composition, it is surmounted by a reinforced concrete frieze in which the sculptor Couvègnes, Grand Prix of Rome, molded and carved, around a glorious God, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint George, Saint Christopher holding the child Jesus, Saint Nicholas and his grandchildren, Saint Joan of Arc, Saint Catherine.Higher up is a large glass roof that lights the nave above the grandstand. At the top of the facade, 3 motifs of reinforced concrete sculpture, by the same artist, remind in the centre of the Saint to whom the church is dedicated, the founder of Saint Vaast Abbey with his legendary bear; beside him the thuriferous angels sound the glorification.
The baptismal funds
They are on the left side of the entrance, below a few steps, reminding the pool where the catechumens were baptized.Thanks to the colouring of its stained glass windows, this enclosure is bathed in an orange light, symbol of birth and joy.
The Chapel of the Dead
Located on the opposite side, it receives through its claustras a bluish day which, by contrast, without giving sadness, spreads the atmosphere of recollection and meditation imposed by death.
The lace turret
Built of reinforced concrete, enclosing the staircase leading to the grandstand, it is located in a corner of this chapel. By its detail and scale it contributes to a picturesque note and recalls the interior stairs of the church Saint Maclou in Rouen.
The tribune
Between the bell tower and the chapel of the dead is the vast grandstand, which is largely illuminated by the large stained-glass window on the façade. Inside, the latter gives a sumptuous richness to the back of the church. This beautiful work was executed by Herbert Stevens and Rinuy, glass painters in Paris.
The large stained glass window
If, on the outside, the reinforced concrete frame of this stained-glass window counts by its ribs to the detriment of the stained-glass windows, on the other hand, on the inside the stained-glass window alone, by its colouring and the lead-setting details, gives a sumptuous richness to the back of the church.This beautiful work was done by Messrs.Hebert, Stephens and Rinuy, glassmakers in Paris.