The best road cycling routes around Boissy-Lès-Perche

very good craft beers, friendly welcome and beautiful setting

Of Romanesque foundation, the church of Saint-Maurice-lès-Charencey, dedicated to Saint Maurice, was remodeled at the end of the Middle Ages and then extensively renovated in the 19th century. It consists of a nave of four bays ending in a semicircular apse. This nave constitutes the oldest part of the building onto which several elements were grafted to the north. The building is indeed flanked on this side by a side aisle opening onto the nave by a series of large arches with a broken profile. This side aisle, the first bay of which serves as the base of the bell tower, opens onto the north arm of a transept of which only this part was built or remains. Its construction probably predates that of the side aisle, as would tend to prove, thanks to the careful examination of the framework, the presence of an old valley ridge, visible under the current roof. During the Restoration, the church's western façade was completely rebuilt; the current bell tower, likely erected in place of an older one, belongs to this same renovation project, which can be dated to 1821 according to an inscription inserted in the gable wall. Finally, a sacristy was built later in the northeast corner of the building, against the apse and the transept arm. Constructed of rubble stone covered in some parts with an old lime render, and in others with a hydraulic binder-based render that was quite unsightly and would eventually deteriorate, it rests on a basement partially uncovered during the work on the western façade. Its current slate roof does not appear to be original: the church was once covered with flat tiles. Several types of bays bear witness to the successive interventions in the building: the choir retains three examples of small, semicircular bays made of Grison stone, two of which were partially walled up during the installation of the great high altar and altarpiece in the choir. The workmanship of the other bays pierced in the south wall, with their broken profiles and brick frames, testifies to 19th-century work. As for the stones and limestone latticework of the large window, of fine quality, with flamboyant tracery that illuminates the north arm of the transept, they show worrying alterations. While the exterior of the church attracts little attention—its unfinished and rather unsightly surroundings contribute to this—the interior presents a rich and interesting decoration. Indeed, the nave is covered by a beautiful, high-volume, paneled timber vault with a broken profile, the entire surface of which is decorated with stencils with highlights of red, blue-gray, and black. The hallmarks and tie beams are carved and painted. Emblazoned engolante heads decorate the central sections of the tie beams. The choir vault features a particularly elaborate blue scrollwork decoration, probably reworked in the 19th century, but of high decorative quality. The choir is occupied by a substantial high altar with a reredos, with three sides, which therefore does not follow the curve of the masonry and conceals the roof posts decorated with Ionic pilasters. The central panel, crowned by a pointed pediment, is framed by side panels with triangular pediments. Niches, pilasters with Corinthian capitals, and obelisks complete this work. The aisle is also covered by a paneled vault decorated with painted red, gray-blue, and black bands, with white festoons and plant motifs. For masonry, framework and roofing work, the Sauvegarde de l’Art français granted a grant of €18,294 in 2001.

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Located 5 km northeast of La Ferté-Vidame, the Saint-Denis de Morvilliers church stands in the very center of the village. The rectory was the abbot of Saint-Père de Chartres, whose monks owned the church from the beginning of the 12th century. Two charters, dated 1126 and 1127, attest to this. This building comprises a single nave ending in a semicircular chevet. A timber-framed bell tower has crowned the western part of the roof since the 18th century. The west portal through which one enters this building is made of gray stone, unfortunately cemented with a decoration of false stones. The south wall is pierced by five narrow bays, probably from the 12th century. Four windows were installed in the 15th century on the north facade. A fifth, now blocked, was pierced in the apse at the same time. Inside, despite alterations, the church retains an exposed rafter frame forming a medieval truss. Curiously independent of the church structure, it rests on two rows of posts along the drip walls. The vault is paneled. The presence of frescoes could be detected under the plasterwork of the north wall. For the restoration of the apse's frame and roof, the Sauvegarde de l'Art Français (French Art Protection Agency) awarded a grant of €16,769 in 2001.

Église Saint Madeleine is a church where beautiful various statues of Saints, famous and less famous. The reason for so many different statues is that the school of sculpture was established here.

Small church with its cemetery

The church of Rohaire, in Eure et Loir, in the Centre-Val de Loire, is attached to the parish of Saint Laumer du Perche, of the Doyenné des Forêts, in the diocese of Chartres. The church is placed under the protection of Saint Martin.

With a very simple plan, with its tiled nave and its small slate bell tower on the ridge, the church surrounded by its cemetery, set back from the road, overlooks the countryside planted with trees. The river is nearby, and its flowing water evokes that of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, as soon as we see the statue of the patron, Saint John the Baptist, in the choir. His arm raised towards the sky reminds us of his preaching in the desert of Palestine: "Prepare for the coming of the Messiah...". On the thin banner attached to his staff are written the words: "Ecce Agnus Dei", by which he already announced that he saw in Jesus the victim freely offering himself as a sacrifice for the Redemption of all men. Placed on the ground against the wall, a 17th century painting. depicts Jesus immersed up to his knees in the waters of the river, leaning with his hands crossed on his chest to receive the baptism of penance from the hand of John kneeling on the bank. We see “the Spirit descending on him like a dove” and we recall the words of John reported in the Gospel: “I am not worthy to bow down at his feet… I have baptized you in water; he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.” Beside him, the angel wearing Jesus’ clothes turns his face towards a young child whom he guides with a hand placed on his shoulder, as if to teach him the profound meaning of baptism. Above the arch through which the nave opens onto the choir, the group of Christ on the cross surrounded by Mary and Saint John the Evangelist is a fine example of 16th century religious sculpture, faithful to traditional iconography. Similarly, at the back of the nave is the charming naive statue of Saint Fiacre: this young monk from Ireland loved to cultivate the vegetable garden of his monastery, near Meaux. Patron saint of gardeners, he holds his spade, and in the Perche region he was also invoked to cure various illnesses. More unique in style, the large Renaissance chest serving as a central altar was the former “work bench of the factory” reserved for the administrators of the parish’s resources and expenses. Let us admire the skill and imagination of the cabinetmaker who carved this series of full-length figures in oak under the arcades separated by “terms” inspired by Roman antiquity. Their distinctive attributes make us recognize Saints Christine, Barbara, Madeleine and Catherine on the front, and on the sides Saints Peter and Paul on the right, John the Baptist and Bartholomew on the left. Their silhouettes are more reminiscent of fairy tale characters…