Sainte-Catherine, the neighborhood of Les Gens de Mer
The Sainte-Catherine neighbourhood developed during the construction of the city’s ramparts. A seaside neighbourhood, the “seafarers” have left their mark on it. Their old timber-framed houses remain.
Dating from the second half of the 15th century, the church of Saint Catherine replaces an old stone church destroyed during the Hundred Years War. It was built by the inhabitants of the city after the departure of the English. With few resources, they used wood from the Touques forest and their knowledge of shipbuilding as their raw material.
It was built in several «countryside». The first dates from 1460 with the construction of the first nave, that of the North. With population growth, a larger church became necessary with the construction of the second nave in 1496.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the interior of the church was given a plaster cladding and a neoclassical porch with Greek columns replaced the primitive porch. Extensive restoration work was undertaken from 1879, including the disappearance of plaster on the nave and the replacement of the Greek porch with the existing porch in 1929.
Classified «Historical Monument» in 1879, it attracted the attention of many archaeologists and historians: it is the largest church in France built of wood with a separate bell tower.
The bell tower, robust oak construction is built on the house of the ringer. Annex of the Musée Eugène Boudin, it is visited and presents religious works (sculptures, souvenirs of the Charités and the Notre-Dame de Grâce chapel).