Église Saint-Martin

English translation

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History

Civières is located in the new commune of Vexin-sur-Epte on the plateau of Vexin. The commune is to the west of the Epte valley near Vernon and Les Andelys. The church is to the south of the village, in the centre of the cemetery enclosed by a low wall. The church of Saint-Martin is of Latin cross plan, with a flat chevet pierced by an opening formed of three Gothic lancets. It is built of rubble stone in limestone. A sacristy has been added at the angle of the south arm of the choir. Similarly, a porch shelters the western entrance. The two-pitch roofs are covered in tiles, except for that of the porch and the bell tower in slate. The bell tower is placed on the south transept. Inside the walls are rendered. The panelled roof structures have trusses and purlins. The oldest parts of the church are the outer walls of the nave. Architectural analysis and comparison with similar churches in the department make it possible to date the construction of these walls to the 10th-11th centuries. Notable is the use of a local stone, grouette, arranged in opus spicatum. A blocked Romanesque opening is still readable on the north wall of the nave. The church has undergone alterations and reconstructions in the 13th century and after the Hundred Years' War in the 15th-16th centuries. Thus the present windows were probably made in the 13th century while the choir, part of the transept and the western façade were rebuilt after the Hundred Years' War. Secondary building campaigns in the 18th century allowed the construction of the sacristy and in the 19th century that of the porch.