Par
Matthieu Le Tirant
Published on
Dec 3 2024 at 7:38 a.m.
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They are not looking for the famous “blue house hanging on the hill” sung by Maxime Le Forestierbut three stained glass windows exposed to San Francisco to UNITED STATES…
Benoit Debove and his wife Vera Marques-Olivera-Debove did not expect such a discovery on the eve of the European Heritage Days in September 2024.
And yet: the glass roofs dating from the 16th century, today exhibited at the Legion of Honor museum in San Franciscowere indeed originally made to adorn the church Saint-Jean-Baptiste of Chaumont-en-Vexin.
They crossed the Atlantic
What is the story of these stained glass windows which crossed the Atlantic to land in the Americas, after a first life in the heart of the VFrench exin ?
This is the question that the couple is interested in.
“It all started when we were preparing an event with our association for Heritage Days and we were looking into the history of the church in our village in Fay-les-Étangs” explains Benoit Debovepresident of the young Fagusienne association – kindness of the inhabitants of Fay-les-Étangs editor's note – historical and archaeological research (AFRHA), founded in June 2023 with his wife, an archaeologist graduated from the Sorbonne.
“We were quickly confronted in our research with the extent of the names of municipalities similar to ours. So, in order to clarify our research on Fay, we crossed them with Chaumont-en-Vexin. Until we made an unexpected discovery…”.
A young association already very active
The Fagusian Association for Historical and Archaeological Research (AFRHA) is a young association born in the local landscape, and it already has a little notoriety. Having attracted 39 members in just a year and a half of existence, it already offers numerous events. “Our objective is to offer both conferences and practical workshops,” explains its president Benoit Debove. Several dates are on the calendar before the end of the year: Advent story Sunday December 1st at 3 p.m. at Saint-Vaast church in Fay-les-Étangs, workshop on leather working Wednesday December 11th at 3 p.m. at the Fay-les-Étangs village hall. FREE ENTRANCE.
Made in 1550
In the magazine the Bulletin monumentala 2001 article by Thérèse Bost-Bertin according to Mr. Hérold's research carried out in 1998, mentions the trace of stained glass windows exhibited in San Francisco.
Very quickly the couple understood that these were at least three works which had been created for the church of Chaumont-en-Vexin.
Benoit Debove managed to retrace the route of the glass roofs.
“The stained glass windows were made in 1550 and decorated the church until 1850, when restoration work began. In 1855, we find mention of a change of workshop after the death of the craftsman in charge of the stained glass windows. Then we lost track of the stained glass windows until 1917.”
Stained glass windows bought by a press magnate
It was on this date that William Randolph Hearstan American businessman and media magnate is cited as the buyer of the stained glass windows. A final mention was discovered by the couple in 1924 with a donation to the museum of Legion of Honor from San Francisco.
In the meantime, the stained glass windows have been replaced at the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church.
“When we carefully study the reproductions of the stained glass windows exhibited in the United States and those present in the church of Chaumont-en-Vexin, we find the same characteristics of colors and shapes for at least three of them” .
These are scenes from The Announcement to Joachimof Worship of the Shepherdsand Joachim refused at the temple.
Democratizing heritage history
“It seemed to us that the information was sufficiently unusual to try to make it known to as many people as possible. And outside the municipality, a priori few people knew about it.”
With its AFRHA association, the objective is precisely to democratize access to history and the richness of local heritage.
“There are currently 39 members in the association and once a month, we organize family workshops with the first part dedicated to a conference, followed by practical workshops. We hope to inspire vocations among the youngest and save a little time in front of the screens.”
After this first discovery, the history-loving couple hopes one day to be able to go to San Francisco to admire the stained glass windows in their original format.
And I promise, they will then take photos of it for the readers of L’Impartial !
To contact the Fagus association for historical and archaeological research (AFRHA), Facebook page in the name of the association or on 06 81 83 63 30.
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