The best traffic-free bike rides around Le Gault-Perche

The construction of the church of Coudray en Perche dates back to the 12th century, but the 16th century saw its enlargement by the addition of a higher choir with a stone vault. The interior is distinguished by the nave's inverted ship-hull structure with its painted ceiling and four equally painted beautiful beams. Also noteworthy are the stone baptismal fonts with their scaly wooden lid, which bears a sculpted angel's head. All the windows were remodeled as was often the custom in the Renaissance. In the 19th century, a gallery was built for the children of the sisters' school. Above, admire the stained glass window "Let the little children come to me." The opening of the chancel window led to the modification of the main altarpiece, due to the generosity of the Prince of Henin, owner of the Château de Montgraham. The pretty stained glass window, which thus descends into the middle of the altarpiece, relates to the story of the church's patron saint: it is a depiction of Jesus handing the keys to Saint Peter.

Under the Ancien Régime, the lordship of Béthonvilliers, located in Perche Gouët, depended on the lord of Authon. The parish belonged to the diocese of Chartres. The Saint-Martin church is built on a slight elevation, with the cemetery to the north. The very simple building consists of a single nave ending in a semi-circular apse. To the south stand a chapel with an almost square plan and a sacristy that communicates with the choir. The nave probably dates from the 16th century, the apse, rebuilt several times, dates from 1873-1875. The chapel predates the end of the 17th century, and the sacristy dates from the end of the 18th or the beginning of the 19th century; it seems that on the north side there was another chapel whose layout was symmetrical to that of the current sacristy. The west facade is devoid of any ornamentation: it is supported by two buttresses and surmounted by a bell tower, both late; the pointed arch entrance door is also from the 19th century. The north side facade bears the traces of the numerous modifications that took place over three centuries. On the wall of the first bay, we can still see the outline of the old door, arched and molded, opening onto the cemetery. On the choir wall, we can guess the frame of an old blocked-up door that opened onto the vanished chapel. In the upper part of the wall appears the outline of the oculus which was sealed up, when the windows of the new chevet were opened: it has its counterpart to the south, both obliquely illuminating the altar. This north facade is pierced by unequal openings, two of them, in pointed arch, have a tracery that dates from the work of the late 19th century. In the central bay opens a narrower window, undoubtedly old. The openings on the south facade correspond to those on the north facade and seem to be of the same date. The chapel is lit by a round-arched window on the east side. Internally, the nave is covered with paneling, in poor condition. The walls bear old plasterwork which has been covered with several layers of whitewash; traces of polychromy are noted on the intrados of the main arch and in several places in the nave. A Christ in Glory stands at the entrance to the choir. The Sauvegarde de l’Art français granted, for the 2003 financial year, a sum of €7,000 for significant waterproofing work: masonry, carpentry, roofing.

The imposing structure known as the "Château de Chateaudun" that reveals itself to visitors here is, of course, also available in other sports in the komoot system. For the corresponding hiking highlight, you'll find further relevant information and additional photos under the tips. If you're interested, see =>> https://www.komoot.com/de-de/highlight/936307

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The Henri Ey Hospital Center is a departmental public health establishment, specialized in psychiatry, which provides a mission of prevention and reception, care, aftercare and reintegration in mental health in Eure-et-Loir. It provides care in adult, child and adolescent psychiatry, as well as a medico-social activity in the field of geriatrics and psychological and mental disabilities.

In 1133, Geoffroi, Viscount of Châteaudun, founded a priory dependent on the abbey of Tiron, in the diocese of Chartres, in this place. When he died, his wife, Helvise de Mondoubleau, built the church around 1140. The church is formed of a long nave ending in a semicircular apse. It has retained several narrow bays, with a semicircular arch, very flared towards the inside. In the 16th century, a chapel was added to the south of the church, a paneling with exposed tie beams above the nave and the choir, and a mass of carpentry to the west which supports the spire of the bell tower on pointed arches. The choir has a trefoiled piscina from the 14th century. In 1660, Jean Gry, a carpenter from Vendôme, executed the altarpiece and the following year, Pierre Janvier, a painter from Mondoubleau, painted the Resurrection which decorates it. The church houses two funerary slabs, one of a priest who died in 1658, the other of François Leboulx, Lord of Chauvellières, who died in 1691.

Bonneval, nicknamed the little Venice of Beauce