The best traffic-free bike rides around Sainville

The church of Châtenay, which stands near its cemetery in a modest village in the Beauce region, is placed under the invocation of Saint Sulpice. Its construction could date from the 16th century. Behind a porch tower that rises majestically at its entrance, a rectangular nave of four bays serves as both nave and choir, ending in a flat chevet; an appendage to the east serves as a sacristy. A seigneurial chapel opens on the north side of the choir. To the south, a side aisle with its own entrance was built in 1720, the date when the tower was also supposedly raised. This two-story tower, covered by a gable roof, is built on a square plan, the second story set back from the first and pierced on each face by two semicircular bays. Inside, the nave is covered with a wooden cradle vault with exposed tie beams, the side aisles being rib-vaulted. Large pointed arches separate the nave from the south side aisle. On the eastern wall, large pointed bays have been walled up for the presentation of the large altarpieces. Buttresses with glacis, thick but narrow, reinforce the side walls at the level of separation of the bays, as well as at the chevet. The Sauvegarde de l'Art Français paid a sum of 75,000 F in 1993 to ensure the waterproofing of this building.

The nave dates from the 13th century, the sacristy from the 18th. Of very simple construction, the church nevertheless contains masterpieces. First, an antependium in painted Cordoba leather, representing Saint Médard; classified as a historical monument, just like the bells. A wooden cabinet from the 13th century containing a necrology. A painted wooden altarpiece from the 12th century, featuring two statues, repainted in 1893, representing St Médard and the Virgin Mary. A churchwardens' bench serving as an altar.

The door opening to the sacristy dates from the 12th or 13th century, attesting to the date of construction of the church. In 1250, a survey of the diocese of Chartres mentions the church. In 1886, the old shingle vault was replaced by a brick and plaster vault. The altarpiece and pulpit are from the 18th century.

Attached to the castle, the 13th-century church was burned down in the 15th century. Rebuilt, it was consecrated in 1539. The lords of Oysonville could pass from the castle to the church through a door opening onto a platform at the back of the church without mixing with the people. The altarpiece, the churchwarden's pew and the pulpit are from the 18th century. In the 19th century, the paneling of the nave was replaced by a plaster vault. Many tombstones are visible.

The Saint-Étienne church of Garancières-en-Beauce is a religious building whose origins date back to the 13th century, with major alterations in the 16th century. It is distinguished by its bell tower, classified as a Historical Monument by decree of April 13, 1907, testifying to its architectural and heritage importance. The location of the building, in the village of Garancières-en-Beauce (Eure-et-Loir), is documented with a precision deemed satisfactory, according to the criteria of the Mérimée database. The official protection of its bell tower in 1907 underlines the historical value of this element, the only part of the church to benefit from a classification measure. The building belongs today to the municipality, although information on its accessibility (visits, current uses) is not specified in the available sources. Its exact address, 2 Bis Rue de la Râperie, confirms its anchoring in the local urban fabric, in a department marked by a rich medieval and Renaissance religious heritage. The available data, mainly from the Monumentum platform and the Mérimée archives, focus on administrative and architectural aspects. No mention is made of the sponsors, artisans or specific historical events linked to the church, apart from its construction period and the protection of its bell tower. The Creative Commons license associated with François GOGLINS' photo indicates a desire for public dissemination of its image, reinforcing its status as shared heritage.

The tower of the church of Sainville, as well as the choir and the first three bays of the main nave, are in the Transitional Romanesque style from the end of the 12th century; the rest of the main nave and the side aisles appear to date only from the 15th century. The bell tower contains three bells. The largest, listed as a historic monument, is engraved with a quatrain: "Founded smokes all new I am the Patron of Sainville, I bear the name of St. Peter. In the year 1014. XLIX." (1549) The second, from 1821, bears this inscription: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people." Gospel of Saint Luke, chapter 1, verse 68. The third is located above the other two.

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With its curiously crowned square tower, this charming church boasts a flamboyant Gothic style. Built between the 15th and 17th centuries, it preserves a remarkable collection of 16th-century stained-glass windows dedicated to Eucharistic miracles.