Church of Notre-Dame et Saint-Firmin
The Church of Notre-Dame and Saint-Firmin is located in Valcanville, Normandy. The surviving buildings were built by the Hospitallers of the Order of Malta, to whom this commandery was given by the Knights Templar. The church remained on their books until the Revolution. The building is peculiar in that is presents a choir that is larger and longer than the nave. Inside, there is a fifteenth century statue of the Virgin and Child.
About this building
The church of Notre-Dame and Saint-Firmin is located in Valcanville, Normandy. It is built on the site of a Commandery of the Knights Templar, that was founded by Henry I, Duke of Normandy and King of England around 1130. Today, Nothing remains of the buildings of this Commandery, so the only knowledge of its existence is from the records which first mention it in the thirteenth century.
The surviving buildings were built by the Hospitaliers of St. John of Jerusalem (Order of Malta) who were given this commandery after the suppression of the Templars by Pope Clement V. The church remained the property of the Hospitaliers until the Revolution, when it was sold as national property.
From the first church of Notre Dame and Saint-Firmin de Valcanville, there only remains the imposing bell tower. In 1827, the church was totally destroyed (except the bell tower) and rebuilt to such an enormous size that in 1903 defects in the construction meant that the nave had to be reduced to smaller dimensions.
The church itself is composed of a single four span nave, covered with false arched vaults. A five span choir, which is unusual because it is wider and longer than the nave, ends with a chevet with cut sides. A sacristy of rectangular plan is backed by the fifth span of the choir. Inside, there is a fifteenth century statue of the Madonna and Child and another medieval wooden statue.
