Sainte Marie Madeleine Church
If we cannot date the construction of the building precisely, the sources at our disposal place it in the 11th or 12th century. The original Romanesque building was to have only one nave and then it was enlarged by a transept and a 17th century choir with a circular bedside.
The north and south chapels date from the 18th century. The seigneurial bench executed around 1780 for Jean René Pierre Le Clerc de la Jubertière who bought the seigneury of Forcé in 1780. The sacristy was attached to the end of the church around 1895.
The reconstruction of the choir was led in 1837 by the chaufournier entrepreneur Frédéric Ricosset. The pulpit to be preached dates from 1839.
The buttresses of the facade were probably remodeled in the 15th century and frame a Greek portal in tuffeau dated by this inscription «Deo Optimum Maximo sumptibus D. Jacquot 1840» (thanks to donations from).
The building was given a facelift in 1985, the result of which is now available to us. He had Abbé Saget say in one of his chronicles: «The nave is finished and the vault has stripped its plaster covering to return to its primitive state: beams and wooden slats appear again, the walls have regained their purity and the harmony of the whole cannot escape the visitor, as soon as the door crossed».
The same year, among other things, the terracotta floor of the nave and transept was rebuilt, not forgetting the glass-roofs.
The commune of Forcé
Small in size (barely 5 km2), the town of Forc has a long and varied history.
No doubt it dates back to the Gallo-Roman period, but no document evidently attests to it.
The village seems to have been built around the church in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, some inhabitants had adhered to Protestantism, as evidenced by a ''Huguenotier'' mentioned in the archives and which was a burial place for the Huguenots.
During the Revolution, a battle took place near the bridge over the Jouanne, between the Chouans and the Bleus and, during this fight, there was a Chouan nicknamed "Tranche-montagne".
It was at the same time that a famous laundry, installed in the Mazure, between Forcé and Entrammes, knew its moment of glory since the white canvases in Forcé were sold throughout Europe and even in America.
The laundry closed in the 19th century and its director, Monsieur le Clerc de la Jubertière, became the first Mayor of Forcé.
Lime kilns installed by a certain Mr Ricosset experienced a great activity at the end of the 19th century.
At that time, the town had more than 800 inhabitants. Recently, it has just surpassed 1,000 inhabitants who take advantage of the attraction of its capital, 3 km away, Laval, while keeping the calm of a dwelling away from the bustle of big cities.