The best traffic-free bike rides around Bellou-Le-Trichard

The priory was founded at the beginning of the 11th century and is dedicated to Saint Gauburge (or Walburge), abbess of a large Bavarian monastery in the 8th century. Originally owned by the lords of Bellême, it passed, from the 12th century, to the Royal Abbey of Saint-Denis-en-France. From the end of the 15th century, it was directly dependent on royal power until the Revolution. An important rural estate, its buildings bear witness to its special status and the magnitude of its revenues. Since 1972, it has housed the headquarters of the Perche Ecomuseum, which bears witness to the peasant life of the Perche and develops a diverse cultural program.

The nave is covered with a wooden vault with exposed beams. The archivolts of the Romanesque door are decorated with saw teeth. The west gable wall is topped with a slender bell tower. The interior contains three classical altars whose designs were apparently made by Mansard at the request of Louvois, owner of the Prairie de Marcilly.

A male yew* was planted near the entrance to the church, once surrounded by the cemetery. Its double trunk supports a crown that hides part of the building. This funerary tree is the only significant plant in the crossing of the town, whose name evokes another species that has become rare: the field elm. The church is accessed through a porch (heavily restored) recalling the Romanesque origins of the building, confirmed by the narrow and high semicircular bay above it. During the Renaissance, the nave was enlarged by two chapels lit by windows with flamboyant tracery. The flat chevet was pierced by three bays in a pointed arch forming a "triplet", from the 13th century, probably walled up at the beginning of the 18th century when the high altar was installed. In the choir: high altar (early 18th century - Cl. MH) with armorial medium-relief** in terracotta, "The Transfiguration", after Raphael; gilded wooden statues of Saint Godegrand and Saint Opportune On the gable wall of the south chapel, between a corner buttress and a Gothic window, a sundial was painted in 1991, on the site of an old one. * The yew is a dioecious species: the male and female plants grow separately. Only the female flowers will give rise to the arils, a kind of fleshy bright red berry containing a single, toxic seed. ** Offered by the abbess of Saint-Julien du Pré, in Le Mans, Catherine d'Aumont, who died in 1708, whose coat of arms was: "argent with a chevron gules accompanied by seven martlets of the same, four in chief 2 and 2, three in base 1 and 2".

The church of St Pierre des Ormes holds an important place in the heart of the village, surrounded by its pretty flowerbeds. Dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, it has retained its Romanesque portal. After crossing it, you cross the narthex to reach a second door which opens onto the main nave of the building. The wooden vault is barrel-vaulted. An extension was made in the 16th century by adding a side aisle, with two windows which would become dormers. The small door with Renaissance decoration opened onto the cemetery, then adjoining. The current choir was built in the 19th century. The altar is made with two hemp braies supporting a beautiful wooden board. Note, on each side of the choir, wooden niches, one of which houses a statue of St John (with an eagle). A pilgrimage was organized every September 8th to Saint Gourgon, because the fountain was reputed to cure eye diseases. Very popular until the beginning of the 20th century, it was gradually abandoned. The fountain, now filled in, was located in the cellar of a house near the current town hall.

Saint-Rémy Church from the 11th and 16th centuries. Stained glass windows from the 20th century. Altarpiece of the Saint-Julien chapel from the 17th century.

Latin cross plan with one nave. Bell tower rising at the corner of one of the side walls of the nave and one of the arms of the transept. Very simple front facade: semi-circular portal and oculus. Gable of the north arm of the transept pierced with a broken bay with tracery. Church built in the 16th century. A bay dates back to the 11th century; the north chapel dates from the 16th century; church remodeled in the 17th century

The Notre-Dame parish church, formerly the presentation of the Saint-Vincent abbey in Le Mans, is a beautiful building measuring 30 m in total length. The various stages of its construction in the 15th, 16th and 18th centuries. took nothing away from its interest. The pointed arch windows which light the choir have partly flamboyant tracery which belongs to the end of the Gothic period. The nave communicates with the aisles via large semi-circular arches. Between the northern side chapels rises the bell tower covered with a gable roof. On the south side there are three side chapels. The nave and the choir have a beautiful exposed framework in the shape of an inverted ship's hull. The current poor state of the roof has led to problems with this framework. The church itself is not protected, but has a high altar, a tabernacle, and an altarpiece from the 17th century. classified as Historic Monuments. A baptistery with its balustrade, also from the 17th century, and a Louis XVI period lectern complete this furniture. For the repair of the roof of the chapels and the north side of the nave, the Safeguarding of French Art granted two grants of 100,000 F in 1992 and 1994.

Dedicated to St Jouin, the church is only mentioned at the end of the 11th century. The building was fortified during the wars of religion. Gunboats (some rotating) are added as well as an underground refuge. You will see one as you go around the church. You can also admire the gargoyles and the magnificent sculpted capitals on either side of the portal. Inside, don't miss the carved keystones and capitals. The building contains quite rich furniture, including a headless sculpture holding a book whose origin and meaning remain mysterious.