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The Saint-Just-et-Sainte-Anne church of Fresnay-le-Gilmert is a religious monument located in the town of the same name, in the Centre-Val de Loire region. The available data does not specify its period of construction or its architectural evolution, but its existence testifies to a local heritage rooted in the rural landscape. Churches of this type, often at the heart of villages, played a central role in community life. They served as a place of worship, gathering, and identity marker for the inhabitants. In Centre-Val de Loire, as elsewhere in France, these buildings also reflected the religious and social practices of successive eras, although the specific details for Fresnay-le-Gilmert are not documented here.

According to tradition, the church choir covers the remains of an older building, possibly dating back to the 6th century, which was built to house the saint's body. According to current knowledge, the commune of Saint-Piat (Sanctus Piatus in Latin) officially appeared in 1087, mentioned in a charter of the Nottonville Priory (Eure-et-Loir), on which it depended. The current building was rebuilt during the time of Francis I, as suggested by the date 1535 engraved on two buttresses of the apse and the date 1542 engraved on a piece of wood from the vault. This is according to a study by the SAEL (Eure-et-Loir Archaeological Society). The three-sided apses, the dripstone towers (horizontal members projecting from a wall), and the sculpted roof structures are a testament to the importance of the reconstructions carried out in the department during the 16th century. The church of Saint-Piat is one of them. While the church has not been officially recognized, it nevertheless contains objects that have attracted attention both for their antiquity and quality, but not always for good reason. Their artistic value, far from attracting only religious or aesthetic interest, has also aroused a covetousness that, unfortunately, remains for some of them. Fortunately, those still in place are carefully cared for and offer the curious a story to discover, a beauty to slowly ponder as they progress toward the choir.

Unfortunately, the church was not accessible when I visited (mid-September 2024). You could only look in through a gate and the dance of death depictions on the left side were not really visible. In front of them were transparencies with skeleton drawings. Maybe those were the depictions...

The parish church of Saint-Remy de Vérigny, located in the current new commune of Mittainvilliers-Vérigny, has been documented in the archives since 1126 as being dependent on the abbey of Saint-Père in Chartres. Its construction probably followed shortly after this date, as evidenced by the use of grison for both the buttresses and the frames of certain bays and the large west portal with a grison roller. The proximity of the manor and then the castle of Vérigny, owned by the prestigious families of O and Vieuville until the early years of the 18th century, encouraged donations and legacies in favor of the parish church. It is to Charles II of O that we owe the construction of the north aisle as well as the family chapel in the right bay of the choir, on the north side. The ribbed vaults and the hanging keystones sculpted with little angels evoke the creations of the second quarter of the 16th century such as those of the church of Bérou-la-Mulotière. If the only vestiges of stained glass windows preserved date from the

A modest place of worship, built in the middle of a tiny village, the Favril church was there as early as 1250. Under the reign of Saint Louis, Saint-Pierre du Favril was already there. This is confirmed by a register of the diocese of Chartres, drawn up in 1250, which mentions a parish church dedicated to Saint-Pierre au Favril (Faverilium). The text adds that there was a priest and 56 parishioners.

This church has Saint Martin as patron or rather protector, chosen for his holiness, example of charity, faith and mercy. This charity he showed by offering half of his coat to a shivering poor man to warm him. His radiant faith as a hermit and monk, founder in Ligugé in 460 of the first monastic community in Gaul...

Composed of a Romanesque nave with flat buttresses placed symmetrically on each side (typical of the end of the 11th century or the first half of the 12th century), it was completely remodeled in the 16th century and the end of the 20th century. The bays of the nave are from the 15th century, in flamboyant Gothic style, as is the rose window. The span of the bell tower and the choir, with ribbed vaults, date from the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century. As early as the 16th century, the bell tower had a clock, quite rare and expensive for the time. The pillars of the central bay are richly molded and crowned with thin bands of foliage serving as capitals. The windows are decorated with flamboyant tracery of varied designs. The Romanesque portal was also remodeled in the 16th century. The powerful central bell tower with buttresses [formerly had three bells named PIC DAN JON. There will only be one left after the Revolution, the other two having been melted down to make cannons and ammunition.

The Saint-Lubin church dates from the 13th century. In the 16th century, a 4-bay aisle was added to the north. In the 19th century, the door to the nave which communicated with the bishops' house was walled up. The church is decorated with wooden statues of Saint Lubin, Saint Peter and Saint Michael, as well as 13 bays of ornamental and figurative stained glass, including two signed Lorin: Mater dolorosa (bay 12) and Ecce agnus dei dated 1869 (bay n °18). The two bays of the sacristy, on the other hand, are simple wooden windows and classic glass panes.