Église Saint-Martin de Tollevast: A Romanesque Church in Normandy
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- French, Norman
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page11 sections
History
Twelfth-century origins
Église Saint-Martin de Tollevast is a Catholic church in France, built chiefly during the first half of the twelfth century in the Romanesque and proto-Gothic traditions of the Cotentin. Romanesque architecture is characterized by rounded arches, heavy masonry, compact forms, and sculptural decoration, while proto-Gothic features anticipate the later use of pointed arches and rib vaults. The church’s principal surviving parts date from the second quarter of the century, and its early rib-vaulted choir connects it with the regional architectural tradition known as the Lessay school.
The church belonged to the lordship of Tollevast, whose medieval lord, Henri de Tollevast, accompanied William, Duke of Normandy, during the conquest of England in 1066. William became known as William the Conqueror after that conquest. Henri distinguished himself at the Battle of Hastings and received an important estate on the Isle of Wight. The lordship also held Sainte-Mère-Église, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, and the fiefs of Beaudieuville and Petit-Tollevast.
Patronage and later changes
In 1219, Hugues de Morville, bishop of Coutances, confirmed the charter through which Thomas de Tollevast had granted the patronage of the church to the Abbey of the Vow at Cherbourg. Patronage gave the abbey an institutional role in the church and its religious administration. In 1350, another Thomas de Tollevast transferred two-thirds of the church’s tithe to the same abbey. The remaining third belonged to the Priory of Luthumière at Brix.
The building was altered over the following centuries. Its Romanesque central bell tower was remodeled in the fifteenth century, and the south wall was reconstructed in 1757. The church was listed as a French historic monument by an order dated 24 February 1956.
Remains
Plan and exterior
The church stands in the lower part of Tollevast village in the Manche department of Normandy. Its simple basilican plan consists of a single nave followed by a semicircular apse. The nave is a narrow, elongated rectangle measuring 18 metres in length. It has no vault or side aisles and is divided into three bays, after which come the bay beneath the bell tower and a narrow, deep choir of two bays. Small, irregular masonry forms the walls, reflecting the regional Romanesque and proto-Gothic character shared by small Cotentin churches such as those at Martinvast and Octeville.
The nave and portal
The north wall of the nave retains small original Romanesque windows. At the centre of another wall, reinforced by two buttresses, the portal opens through three semicircular archivolts. These arches rest on engaged columns whose capitals carry palmettes, a shrub browsed by an animal, and interlaced vegetal designs.
The bell tower
The central bell tower rises above the first bay of the choir. Its fifteenth-century remodeling gave it a narrow pointed opening, while a broader pointed, trilobed window was inserted to light the choir. The bay beneath the tower is covered by a rib vault, a ceiling supported by intersecting structural ribs.
Choir and sculptural decoration
The choir and apse
The two bays of the choir have quadripartite rib vaults, each divided into four sections. The choir rises slightly above the semicircular apse, which is covered by a cul-de-four, a half-dome vault. Flat buttresses articulate the apse. The principal architectural interest of the interior is concentrated in the arches supporting the tower, the choir vault, and the arcade of the apse. Corbel-like supports at the ends of the ribs anticipate features associated with Gothic design.
Carved supports and capitals
The cornice modillions, which are projecting blocks supporting the cornice, are carved with human heads, animal masks, geometric motifs, a winged griffin, a donkey, a pig, a sagittary, and a figure beside a lion. A sagittary is a centaur shown as an archer. The choir capitals are historiated, meaning that they carry recognizable figures or scenes, including monkeys and confronting animals.
Eight large corbel-like supports in the choir show an enormous head attached to a pair of legs, two moustached heads, embryonic arms pulling at a mouth, a figure carrying two animals, a bust, and a saintly figure before a man coiled by a serpent. Together with the capitals and modillions, these carvings form a notable sculptural ensemble of Norman Romanesque art.
Fifteenth-century alabasters
Two fifteenth-century alabaster sculptures survive inside the church. They represent Saint Christopher, the Christian saint traditionally associated with carrying the Christ Child, and the Education of the Virgin, a subject showing Saint Anne teaching the young Virgin Mary.
