After visiting the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer, I drove to the town of Fontaine-Henry near Caen to take a tour of its most famous residence, the Château de Fontaine-Henry. The name of the town means "fountain of Henry" the old spelling of the name Henri, a possible reference to Henry de Tilly.

The town was also known for it fountains and preponderance of wells, one of which can be seen just in front of the main doorway.  Château de Fontaine-Henry has belonged to the same family for nearly ten centuries without ever having been sold. Nevertheless, several names have succeeded in ownership because it has repeatedly been handed down by women. The families Tilly, d’Harcourt, de Morais, Boutier de Château d'Assy, de Montécler, de Marguerie, de Carbonnel, de Cornulier and d’Oilliamson have all come into ownership through inheritance. There was a fortress at this location at the beginning of the 11th century and the Tilly family replaced the old fortress between 1200 and 1220 with a new castle. All that survives from this period are the chapel and vaulted rooms that once formed the ground floor of the residential building. These two elements give a measure of the magnitude and importance of this château in the middle ages. In 1374 Jeanne de Tilly married Philippe d'Harcourt and brought him a dowry of a lordship or 'seigneurie'. It was the Harcourt family who began to rebuild the château after the Hundred Years War. The works were spread out over nearly a century, from the late 15th century to the 1560s. The château is still lived in by the descendents of its early owners, the comte and comtesse de Olliamson. The château has a very original kind of architectural harmony, making it a Renaissance masterpiece, following the examples of the Hôtel d'Escoville and the Hôtel de Than in Caen. On its west façade one can see the different styles of architecture used during its evolution--the west side being the most curious where there are a series of three levels of columns. This was done to create perspective and the illusion of height. Above one of the windows is an inscription dated precisely to 1537, the date of completion for this portion of the château. There are several Biblical features on this façade as well, the images of Adam and Eve, Moses and Noah. Above another window is the image of Charles VIII. I was most impressed by the quantity and quality of the stonework with its filigree patterns and decorative medallions.

The details are amazing if you take the opportunity to study them—especially around the lower windows which have images of cherubs, birds and plant motifs. The château is more than 15 meters high and the roofs that cover the building are considered to be the highest in France. We weren’t allowed to take any photos inside except for in the main reception hall which used to be the kitchen. Here there are three large fireplaces. Above them are the coats of arms of the different families who have owned the house over the centuries. The chapel was founded in the 13th century and transformed in the 16th century. There is an image of a stag just above the main doorway which I think represents the fondness of hunting by one of the former owners who is it said killed 1000 stags in his lifetime. Good for him ? Gothic arches are featured along the sides and decorative capitals above the columns. It is open to the public and has an exhibition of religious art inside. At the back of the château is the entrance to the oldest part of the castle, the vaulted storage rooms. They are dark and damp. There is a good view of the back of the château from here as well.

While driving home, approaching the small town of Surville and the flat green earth of this low lying land all around me I could easily see in the distance this small church directly beside the road. What struck me first was the imposing bell tower which looked like a fortified keep. Like so many churches in the area, I assumed that it once served as a lookout tower for invaders from the sea. Inside, there is a lot of information about the liturgical furniture but little history about the origins of the church itself. I found some information online. It turns out that the original construction was built in the 13th and 14th centuries and served as a chapel dedicated to Sainte-Anne for the owners of the château. It became a church much later. I’d like to say a special thank you to Le Chevalier Dauphinois, a fellow over-blogger for his interesting insights on this place. The painted wood of the main altar and its retable were actually built during the 19th century from a recycled 17th century altarpiece. At the center is a painting of the Resurrection of Christ and on either side are statues of the Virgin and Child as well as Saint John the Baptist. There is another beautifully painted altar in the chapel dedicated to the Virgin. Statues resting on the altar are all depictions of the Virgin while the other three represent Sainte-Barbara, Sainte-Anne and Saint-Sébastien. The baptismal font is made from marble from Montmartin and dates from the early 19th century. Just opposite is an early 19th century confessional. Along the wall of the same chapel you can admire a carved limestone credenza from 1554 which has a special hole in the bottom of the receptacle for holy water to return to the foundations of the church. Across the street from the church is the Château de Surville which can be rented out for receptions, weddings and conferences.

The parish close (enclos paroissial) is the most typical monumental grouping in Breton communities. The center of the close was the cemetery which was very small with gravestones of uniform size. Today this is tending to disappear. Around the cemetery, which is often reached through a triumphal arch, are grouped the church with its small square (placître), the Calvary and the ossuary or charnel house. The spiritual life of the parish therefore is closely linked with the community of the dead. The entrance to a cemetery is often ornamented with a monumental gateway. This is treated as a triumphal arch to symbolize the accession of the Just to immortality. At Lampaul-Guimiliau, the parish close is entered through the triumphal arch (1699) surmounted by three crosses as well as the statues of the Virgin Mary and Saint John. In the tiny Breton cemeteries of olden days, bodies had to be exhumed to make room for new dead. The bones were piled in small shelters with ventilation openings, built against the church or cemetery wall. The skulls were placed there separately in special "skull caskets". Then these charnel houses became separate buildings, larger and more carefully built and finally reliquaries, which could be used as funerary chapels. At Lampaul-Guimiliau the funerary chapel, a former ossuary (1667), abuts on the triumphal arch and has buttresses crowned with small lantern turrets. Formerly it also housed a notable tableau of the Entombment of Christ, which has now been moved into the church itself. Calvary is the name of the hill, also known as Golgotha, where Christ was crucified; its name was inspired by its skull-like shape (Skull; calvaria in Latin). Breton Calvaries representing scenes from the Passion and the Crucifixion are not to be confused with wayside crosses often erected at crossroads or near churches to mark the site of a pilgrimage procession. The unique Breton monuments illustrate episodes of the Passion, represented around Christ on the Cross. Many of them were built to ward off, as in 1598, a plague epidemic, or to give thanks after it ended. The priest preached from the dais, pointing out with a wand the scenes which he described to his congregation. The sculpture is usually rough and naïve—the work of a village stonemason—but it shows a great deal of observation and is often strikingly lifelike and expressive. Many figures, notably soldiers, wear the costumes of the 16th and 17th centuries. The Calvary at Lampaul-Guimiliau is the oldest in the parish close from the 15th century and features the Crucifixion on one side and the Descent from the Cross on the other. The church is dominated by a bell tower, constructed from 1573, and was originally one of the highest in Finistère. However it was truncated by fire following a lightning strike in 1809. Under a gable of the porch is a statue of Saint Michael defeating the Dragon. The porch itself dates from 1533 and like many other churches in the area displays the twelve Apostles. Inside, a 16th century rood beam spans the nave, bearing a crucifix between statues of the Virgin and Saint John. Both sides of the rood beam are adorned painted reliefs representing on the nave side, scenes from the Passion and, on the chancel side, the twelve Sibyls separated by a group of the Annunciation. There are several altarpieces throughout the church including this one of Saint John the Baptist. The baptistery is one of the most striking among the parish closes. It is an octagonal Baroque concoction, dating from about 1650. Unlike most of its kind, it is elaborately polychrome, with highly-elaborate pillars and finely-modelled representation of the baptism of Christ. This is the organ and it dates from the 17th century.  One of the most touching sculptures inside the church is that of the Deposition or Descent from the Cross (15th or 16th century). The Entombment tableau from 1676, by Antoine Chavagnac, shows Christ attended by Joseph of Arimathea, Salome, Mary Magdalene, the Virgin Mary supported by St John the Apostle, and Mary the Mother of James. The figures used to be in the funeral chapel next to the triumphal arch.

The town of Landivisiau wasn’t very interesting nor was it a part of my tour except as a place for me to stop and find a restroom. Of note however was the parish church, l'église Saint-Thuriau which was built in the 1860s and replaces a church that was on the same site dating from 1554. The church still retains its south porch and tower from the 16th century. The building is quite interesting for its statues in the south porch of the twelve apostles (1554 – 1565) carved in a special granite from the region known as kersantite. Some of the statues carved alongside the columns depict local saints as well as the images of Adam and Eve as they eat from the Tree of Knowledge.

Sunday was my last day in Haute Normandie and I still had a few places I needed to visit.  Fortunately, there wasn't any fog and I was able to get some nice photos of our chamber d’hôte Au temps des cerises which was surrouned by orchards of fruit trees in blossom.  Like many buildings in the region, it was an old timber framed barn at one time.  Our first stop this moring was the Abbaye de Jumièges, one of the most impressive ruins in France. In the 10th century, Duke William Longsword rebuilt Jumièges on the ruins of the former abbey founded in the 7th century by Saint Philibert and destroyed by the Vikings. It was renowned especially for its charity to the poor, being popularly called "Jumièges l'Aumônier". Enjoying the patronage of the dukes of Normandy, the abbey became a great center of religion and learning, its schools producing, amongst many other scholars, the national historian, William of Jumièges. The large abbey was consecrated in 1067 in the presence of William the Conqueror. The last monks dispersed at the Revolution and in 1793 it was bought at a public auction by a timber merchant who intended to turn Jumièges into a stone quarry and used explosives to bring down the lantern in the church. A new proprietor in 1852 set about saving the ruins and in 1946 the complex was purchased by the State. Like many religious monuments, the abbey has been subjected to a great many modifications and reconstructions. Having become “the most beautiful ruin in France” according to many 19th century authors, it today offers us an interesting lesson in architecture. One enters the property through the 14th century gatehouse. The interior presents beautiful Gothic architecture with sculpted keystones. Looking up, one can see on one of them--the medieval green man mask. Today, the building houses a reception room, exhibition hall as well as the souvenir shop. The Notre-Dame Abbey Church is the main church of the abbey. It hosted members of the religious order and the laity during the major religious festivals. An exceptional example of 11th century Normandy Romanesque art, it is built on a particularly grand scale; the two towers are 46 meters high, the nave 25 meters high. The façade is remarkable for its austerity. It is a rare example of a projecting structure between two towers. The nave is visible as soon as you enter and is quite spectacular to look at with its white walls divided into three different levels: arcades, triple openings and tall windows. The Romanesque capital with the bird in the transept is from the 11th century and has two sides. It is fitted tightly into pillar which was added later and is recognizable by its original ochre color. Not much remains of the choir which was rebuilt in the 13th century. It is the part of the church where the clergy stood and where services were held. Of the seven radiating chapels arranged around the choir, only one is conserved. This portion of the site is known as the Saint Pierre Church. It is here that one can see the oldest vestiges of the abbey such as the series of six medallions surmounted by small gemel windows and a half-length portrait of a man. These decorations are the only traces of the monastery that was destroyed by the Vikings in the 9th century. The cloister was used for walking and meditation. It has lost its gallery passageway and its Renaissance decoration from 1530. The refectory which closed off one of the sides of the cloister has been entirely destroyed. The former hospice, converted into a storeroom, was given an upper floor in the 17th century to house the library. Within the park surrounding the abbey are other structures and buildings. The abbot’s residence was built around 1675. Near its main gate are two large outbuildings which haven’t changed since they were built. The interior of the abbot’s lodging serves as a museum for the collection of sculptures which came from the abbey including busts from statues, reclining figures, old capitals and keystones. The gardens surrounding the abbey offer some wonderful strolls among remarkable tree and plant specimens as well as amazing views of the abbey itself from the main terrace where several works by contemporary artists are on display in an open air exhibition. My favorite was this piece by Shigeko Hirakawa entitled Mandala oublié - Labyrinthe de meditation. Nearby is the former bakery which still stands at the far end of the park and is today used for exhibitions.