Eglise St Michel

Erected in the 16th century and listed as a Monument Historique in 1922, Saint-Michel church is remarkable. It's wide, paved with beautiful flagstones, airy and brightly lit thanks to a dozen magnificent stained-glass windows. The vaults are ribbed with simple ogives and keystones. The bell tower is a large, square, 7-metre Renaissance tower, 33 metres high. In the choir, there's a magnificent Regency-style altar, unfortunately hidden by hangings masking vault supports that have been awaiting restoration for 25 years. Restoration work has been underway for several years now. Restoration of the roof, repair of the belfry, consolidation of the bell supports... Recently, all the stained glass windows in the south bay were restored. The site and its history: a church built on the initiative of the Seigneurerie de Brinvilliers Saint-Michel church was built on the initiative and under the orders of the Seigneurie de Brinvilliers, most probably by Jean Wast, architect of Beauvais cathedral. There were 2 doors on either side of the nave. The one on the left was, according to local tradition, the preferred entrance for the Marquise de Brinvilliers. The latter is said to have been walled up during the French Revolution. The Marquise de Brinvilliers, better known as the Poisoner during the reign of Louis XIV, was beheaded and then burned on the Place de Grève in Paris in July 1976. She was accused of poisoning her father, brothers and sister to steal their fortune. Numerous crosses can be seen around the old walled gateway, a sign of the passage of pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela.