Historic buildings of district communities of Sainte-Mère-Église

Chapel of Cauquigny: items in the cemetery featured in supplement of the Historic Monuments listing: cross, sepulchral monument - funeral monument - tombs in the form of covered sarcophagus.
14th Century Château : postern and living quarters of the château dating from 15th century. 16th chapel. I.S.M.H.*
La Moinerie : exceptional residence in flamboyant Gothic style partially destroyed by fire by the Germans in 1944. C.L.M.H.*

Gothic church with some Roman elements. Baptismal fonts in marble and wood at the entrance to the nave. The chancel is classified as a Historic Monument..

Manoir d'Artilly : site of one of the bloodiest combats of the landing. Many American parachutists were killed here.

Château de Plain-Marais 17th century. Turrets dating from 14th century. Owned by the d'Aigneaux family. I.S.M.H.*

The church has one of the most beautiful Roman bell towers (12th century) in the county.
The bell tower and the bay of the nave are classified as Historic Monuments. Other items listed in the supplement of the Historic Monuments listing.
Beautiful manor farms with typical architecture of the region

Château de Courcy: beautiful residence with very old outbuildings. A curious looking dog kennel stands alone in the middle of the courtyard. It is most likely that this château is extremely old and is even built on a gallo roman site evidence of which has been unearthed by agricultural and building excavations.
In the village remarkably narrow streets with tall buildngs on each side. A number of open wash-houses
Manoir de Franquetot: the manor is owned by an old local family the Lecuyers. It is very big with a beautiful L shaped 15th century tower. Nowadays the crenellated double door opens onto a large area of grazing land.

12th century Roman church: nave with three bays (early 12th century) and side aisles with some parts13th century. Bas- relief on the door tympanum; many different sculptures: animals being attacked, floral motifs etc. I.S.M.H.*
18th century Château "Le Val" where De Bricqueville, a lieutenant in Frotté's Royalist army (la chouannerie) was arrested by the Republicans in 1797 and later shot in Coutances.

Memorial stone marking the site of the German prisoner of war camp "Continental Central Enclosure n°19".

Franqueville Farm: this farm was a supply distribution post during the Second World War. General Maxwell Don Taylor, Commander of the 101st Airborne, set up the first American command headquarters here on 6thJune 1944. There is a commemorative plaque on the gatepost.

St. Gilles Church: consecrated in 1791 and completely renovated. It is a strange and rather beautiful little church. Most unusually there are neither chairs in the nave nor even ordinary pews. Instead there are little cupboard like pieces of furniture with doors and low partitions, each one containing a long pew. In the nave the 14 stages of the cross may be seen. These have been donated by 14 people whose names are inscribed on a plaque at the end of the nave. Also to be found there are the baptismal fonts in wood and stone, the lords' pew and a commemorative plaque to those who died in the two world wars.
In the left transept the stained glass window represents the nativity. The statues are of Saint Joseph, the Virgin Mary and Saint Theresa.
In the right transept the stained glass window represents Christ's condemnation to death and the statues are of Saint Francis of Assisi, Christ and Saint John the Baptist.
At the edge of the right transept there is a stone pulpit. Most of the stained glass windows in the apse have been donated. Outside there is a restored and working sundial, a crucifix and a listed yew tree.
Château du Vivier: (18th and 19th century). The Vivier Stud Farm is based here. Very attractive park. On 17th June 1814, the Russian General Krapowsky, commander of the third regiment of the Imperial Grenadier Guards, spent one night at the Château de Housesville, home of Monsieur de Liesville, with his wife, his daughter, his aide de camp and 18 servants. During the Second World War a German soldier drowned in the pond.
From the railway bridge (Paris-Cherbourg) there is a view of 8 bell towers in the neighbouring towns and villages.

Church with frescos on the ceiling painted by a Resistance worker sent by the English in 1943 to spy on the German communications centre a few metres from the church. The Germans never found "Monsieur GAILLARD". The french painter was born in Abbeville in 1886 and died in 1947 just after the end of the war in Liesville sur Douve.
From the church a view over the marshes and the lime kilns. Ruins of a windmill visible from the RN13.
Dovecote: 6 metres high, 8.5 metres diameter. Beautiful arched doorway.

Château Grandval : (18th century). Beautiful residence I.S.M.H.*

St. Candide's Church (13th century) The nave is huge and very plain in style. Behind a column there is a single font, decorated with people praying. Outside, built into the base of the south wall there is a stone sculpted to represent a priest. C.L.M.H.*
Very beautiful 16th century priory recently restored. The chapel which once stood between the two main parts of the building has unfortunately been destroyed.
18th century Château de Bernaville and park. This château was occupied by the Germans during the war. General Falley, who directed German operations in the region, lodged there. He was killed during the June 1944 landing. After the liberation the château was sold to the Bon Sauveur who converted it into a psychiatric hospital.
Château de L'Isle-Marie : A very old fortress which occupied a prime strategic position. The château which is a solid square tower with a round tower adjoining, has played an important part in life over the centuries. Barbey D'Aurevilly stayed there and the château served as a background to the action in his novel "Ce qui ne meurt pas".
Pretty clusters of houses in stone and earth in the villages of Caponet and Gueutteville.

St. Gilles Church. The church is cruciform and the walls are hung with 11th and 12th century ornamental brackets or modillions. It is dedicated to Notre-Dame and is under the patronage of Blanchelande Abbey. There is an arch of glory at the entrance to the chancel. A curiosity not to be missed is the colossal stove.19th century fort : built on an old stone redoubt dating from 1689. The interior of the fort as well as the old guardroom have been extensively altered. I.S.M.H.*
Surville Manor Farm : 16th and 19th century. Beautiful double door still with the original knocker. Lovely square tower. Open to visitors.

Church with 11th and 12th century modillions. Unlike the other churches nearby this church has a pointed bell tower. Magnificent Roman portal. One of the most beautiful oak lecterns in the Cotentin. Manor farms full of character.

Church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption : Roman nave with sculpted capitals (figurative scenes, motifs borrowed from bestiaries, echoes of Scandinavia, interlacing reminiscent of the rigging on Viking ships. Very rare in Normandy) Gothic transept and chancel. Magnificent bell tower on three levels: the first floor is Gothic (14th century) and the second and third floors are Renaissance (16th century). The dome has been inspired by Moorish architecture. Inside there is funerary statue in white marble of Henri-Robert aux Epaulles (died 1604), the last feudal lord of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and friend of Henri IV. Pulpit dating from 1636 rebuilt after the collapse of the bell tower in 1840. The church and the square are classified in the Historic Monuments listing. In the summer season there are guided tours of the church and visitors can climb the bell tower and also see the sculptures of the kings of France in the Town Hall.Sculptures in the Town Hall: 76 wooden panels sculpted in 1875 by Isidore Le Goupils, mayor of the commune. These sculptures represent every government from Pharamond in 420AD to Mac Mahon in 1873. The bust of the ruler of the time together with various historical events or scenes of everyday life which characterise the man and his reign, are represented on a medallion which is featured on the panels.
Chapel of the Madeleine: built on the ruins of an edifice erected in the 11th century by Vieul Aux Espaulles. Shipwrecked in a tempest, this Viking chief vowed that if he were to survive he would build a chapel on the site where he came ashore and would get baptised. Nothing remains of this primitive building except the baptismal font (at the entrance to the cemetery) which would be the very same from which legend says that Vieul Aux Espaulles received his baptism. Chapel rebuilt as a thanksgiving by Engish sailors also miraculously saved from peril on the sea. This little renaissance style church was badly damaged by bombing in June 1944. It has since been beautifully restored. C.L.M.H.*
Château de l'Islet: one of the oldest in the region. Modified many times over the centuries. Today only the farmyards remain as representative of the oldest part. Once the residence of the Aux Espaulles, feudal lords of Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont.
Manor Farms: typical regional architiecture. These fortified farms were constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries as protection against the English invaders. They form a semi circle facing the sea.
Old redoubt of Audouville I.S.M.H.*

Church : the oldest part dates from the 11th century (the transept crossing) and the most recent the 14th and 15th century (portal and balustrade in flamboyant style built on to the bell tower) The choir stalls, pulpit, high altar and reredos are all 18th century. The painting in the centre of the church is by Rebuffet (1753). Above the portal a stained glass window depicts parachutists and aeroplanes around the Virgin Mary. The north transept is lit by a stained glass window donated by the Veterans of the 505th regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. Memorial organ. C.L.M.H.*
Roman milliary stone : in the church square. Remains of Roman roads which crossed the Cotentin. These may well have been the same roads which were travelled by William the Conqueror's knights with their catapults on their way to the beaches from where they set sail for England.
Fontaine Saint-Méen : the statue and the fountain are next to the church in a little road to the north east. Saint-Méen was born in England in the 6th century and lived in the region in Saint-Marcouf. One day when he was thirsty he struck the ground with his staff and a little spring gushed forth on the spot. It has never dried up since and the water is reputed to cure all kinds of skin diseases.
Feudal motte : site of La Fière beside the River Merderet. A large ancient defence enclosure built in a raised half circle on the edge of the Merderet valley marshes protecting a ford which still exists beside the bridge. This enormous mound of earth surrounded by a deep wide ditch is practically 300 metres in diameter. Almost certainly, at the beginning of the Middle Ages, a second little enclosure was built to the south, backing up the bigger one but it probably became impossible to defend it due to a lack of manpower. A small part of the big enclosure was separated from this one at the southern extremity by a small perpendicular ditch; this segment became larger by a build-up of earth and eventually became an actual feudal motte which can now be found practically in the middle of the second and smaller enclosure. An old mill, a manor house, various outbuildings and a disused chapel stand on the levelled ground in the centre of the entrenched semi circle.

17th century church: The bell tower is shaped like the roof of the château opposite. The seven virtues are represented by statuettes; a rarity in the region. I.S.M.H.*
Château :16th century tower. The roof is bell-shaped. Façade C.L.M.H.*
Chimneys and arches I.S.M.H.*
Has one of the two smallest town halls in France

Church with choir and transept dating from the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century, modified in the 14th century. The principal beam in sculpted pine, painted and gilded. (13th and 14th century)
15th century crucifix

Château : dovecote and charming garden I.S.M.H.
Neolithic burial mound : cemetery dating from before the Mérovingien era and Clovis. Mound with stone monoliths, Plot A 114. C.L.M.H.