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Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Évreux

Évreux

Dimensions
In the heart of Évreux, near the banks of the Iton and the Gallo-Roman rampart, adjoining the former bishop's palace, now the Musée d'Évreux; it is built entirely of chalk, a local stone, and Vernon stone, and its lantern tower carries the spire known as the “silver bell tower” (clocher d'argent)
Period
Cathedral mentioned in 912 at the baptism of Rollo; Romanesque cathedral consecrated in 1077 (1076 according to Mérimée); burnt in 1119, rebuilt from 1126 and completed around 1140 according to Mérimée, around 1160 according to Wikipedia; fires under Philip Augustus (1194 according to Mérimée, after 1195 according to Wikipedia, then 1198); Gothic rebuilding from 1220, Rayonnant choir begun around 1260 and completed before 1310; work resumed in 1441 after the Hundred Years' War; Chapel of the Mother of God, 1461-1470; north façade by Jean Cossart in the 16th century, completion at the beginning of the 17th century; listed on the 1862 list; restored in the 20th century
What stands there
Burnt in 1119 with the consent of its own bishop, then rebuilt at the King of England's expense on the Pope's orders

In 1119, Henry I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, besieged Évreux to take it back from Amaury de Montfort, vassal of the King of France. To force the town, he asked Bishop Audin, who was also his chaplain and counsellor, for permission to set fire to it; the bishop consented, and the Romanesque cathedral, consecrated some forty years earlier by the Archbishop of Rouen, burnt along with the city. At the Council of Reims, Pope Callixtus II compelled the king to rebuild it at his own expense, on pain of excommunication; in 1126, Honorius II absolved the king and the bishop, and building work began. The chronicler Robert de Torigni would judge that the new church “surpassed in beauty almost all the churches of Neustria”. Its great Romanesque arcades still carry the nave: when Philip Augustus in turn set fire to the town, in the 1190s, they were spared, and the 13th-century master builders, among them Gautier de Varinfroy, topped them with a triforium and clerestory windows before raising, from 1260, a Rayonnant choir with an ambulatory. This choir and its chapels hold the treasure of Évreux: 14th-century stained glass painted with silver stain, a new colour based on silver salts that came to be called “Évreux yellow”, the like of which is found only at Saint-Ouen in Rouen. The Hundred Years' War reopened the building site: after 1441, the transept and its lantern tower were rebuilt, then Bishop Jean Balue built the Chapel of the Mother of God at the chevet, in memory of the coronation of Louis XI. The Flamboyant façade of the north arm, the work of Jean Cossart, completed the building in the 16th century.

Wikipédia — Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Évreux ↗

Further reading

Getting there : In the town centre, adjoining the Musée d'Évreux (former bishop's palace); Guide Tourisme France gives the address as 19 Rue Charles-Corbeau (to be checked). Open all year round according to the same source; opening times and any visiting conditions to be checked; guided group tours on request from the tourist office. The riverside walk along the Iton passes at the foot of the cathedral and the former bishop's palace.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Évreux
Urban · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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All places — Eure (13).