Between Orne and Calvados, this village reveals its secrets: a story to discover

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This visit, commented by the historian Hugues Menès, focused on the reconstruction church of Saint-Pierre-du-Regard (Orne). Wedged between the Vère and Noireau valleys, this village can be considered one of the suburbs of Condé-sur-Noireau (Calvados), which “compressed between hills, extended on either side of them”.

The origins of the village

“In the past, the town was called Saint-Laurent-des-Bois and was located about a kilometer from the town, near the hamlet of Guéfosse. In the 11th century, after a violent fire, which destroyed a large part of the villagethe inhabitants decided to move the town and give it the name of Saint-Pierre, in homage to a miller, named Pierre, who had given his land so that the church could be rebuilt.

Saint-Pierre-du-Regard was previously divided into six fiefdomsthe most important of which belonged to the lords of Samoy: Grand and Petit Samoy, Grand and Petit Theil, the fief of Moissy and that of La Rocque.

At the beginning of 18th centurytextiles already occupied a large place in the region. We weaved by hand, at home, while the construction of spinning mills increased in the Vère valley.

A reconstruction church

Pour the conductor of this morning, “this atypical church is the most interesting. It was rebuilt after it was destroyed during the Second World War. It was dynamited by the Germans, since they were afraid that its bell tower would serve as an observation post for the surrounding valleys.”

This new building was built in reinforced concrete as stripped from formworkwith local schist stone widely used by its architect, the Flérien Pierre Meurice, who is also at the origin of the rotunda of the Saint-Germain de Flers church.

An assumed, but moderate, modernity

The church has several particularities : its asymmetry, the nature of its materials: concrete, shale stone, and wood: “it brings a warmth which reinforces the comfortable character of the building. It stands out for its assertive, but moderate, modernity. In the end, it is a coherent, harmonious and warmly modern whole.”

The sculptures are the work of the painter of Polish origin, Jean Lambert-Rucki. “In sculpted concrete, they give a severe sidebut very elegant,” explains Hugues Menès.

The artist worked with fresh concrete, on which he sculpted, engraved, painted and added metal elements. THE very colorful stained glass windows and the ceramic fresco are the fruit of the work of the painter Jean Weinbaum.

Campanile outside

The construction of a campanilewith this bold choice of moving the bell tower outside the church which isolates it from the rest of the building “brings an Italianate side, which represents an important turning point in the career of Pierre Meurice.

In the region, the reconstruction of a church is rare in Orne, many of them have been repaired, while this one was completely destroyed.

The church of Saint-Pierre-du-Regard has also obtained from the region, the heritage label of reconstruction for its church, which only has a cultural vocation.

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