Aître Saint-Maclou

Rouen

In 1348, the Black Death filled the cemetery of the parish of Saint-Maclou. Land was bought to the north: this is the grand aître, from the Latin atrium, first mentioned in 1362. In the 16th century, space ran short again. In 1526 the parish decided to build three galleries around the cemetery; the work ran from 1527 to 1533. Bones raised from the graves were stored in the attics, above the stone columns. The decoration tells the function of the place: skulls, femurs, gravediggers' tools and objects of the mass for the dead run along the beams, and the columns carry a danse macabre, laity to the west, clergy to the east, probably hammered away during the Wars of Religion. A south wing closed the courtyard in 1652. The bones left the attics in 1705, schools moved in as early as 1661, and the cemetery closed in 1782 on the order of the Parlement de Normandie. Listed in 1862, the aître housed the Beaux-Arts school from 1940 to 2014. The excavations of 2016-2018 found mass graves and the tombs of babies; the restoration completed in 2020 reopened the passage between two streets.

Métropole Rouen Normandie — Focus : Aître Saint-Maclou ↗

Getting there: Rue Martainville, Rouen, near the church of Saint-Maclou; passage and courtyard freely accessible, exhibitions and café in the galleries; times to be checked with the Métropole Rouen Normandie.

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

Ambient sound