Church of Saint Julien XII -th century
BOURG LE ROI (Nord Sarthe)
A first religious building was built on the site of a Gallo-Roman temple showing some similarities with the fanum of Oisseau-le-Petit.
The construction of the present church dates back to the 12th century, when the village was greatly enlarged to become a stronghold under the impetus of Henry II Plantagenet.
The tower grafted on the south-east side of the building could be integrated into the village’s defense system.
The facade has been remodeled several times (XVIII and XIX centuries). On the corner buttresses, one can see carved figures personifying the great sinners and the excommunicated who could not enter the church.
The church is composed of one with a bell tower grafted on its side, whose ground floor is vaulted with ogives, three of the bases supporting the fall of the arches not possessing decoration, the fourth being carved of a small fox head. The stained glass windows date from 1866 and 1934-1942; five of them present an element of the patrimony of the municipality associated with a scene of the life of a saint venerated in the parish, such as Saint Mathurin . The former presbytery of 1704 with openings with sloping lintels is attached to the church.
The stained glass windows of Bourg-le-Roi have the particularity of being realized in mica and each bay has a medallion representing an architectural element of the municipality.