Évreux Cathedral

Évreux Cathedral, otherwise the Cathedral of Our Lady of Évreux (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Évreux), is a Catholic church located in Évreux, Normandy, France. The cathedral is a national monument and is the seat of the Bishop of Évreux.

Évreux Cathedral
Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Évreux
Évreux Cathedral
Religion
AffiliationCatholic Church
ProvinceBishop of Évreux
RegionNormandy
RiteLatin
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusCathedral
StatusActive
Location
LocationÉvreux,  France
Geographic coordinates
Architecture
Typechurch
StyleRenaissance, Gothic, late Gothic (Flamboyant)
Groundbreaking11th century
Completed19th century

Building description
Évreux Cathedral, west front

Built in the 10th century, the nave retains the semi-circular arcades from the Romanesque period. Part of the lower portion of the nave dates from the 11th century. A fire in 1119 destroyed much of the earlier building. Master of the work in 1253 was Gautier de Varinfroy, who also worked on Saint-Étienne de Meaux. Varinfroy worked on the upper levels of the nave.[1]

The west façade with its two ungainly towers is mostly from the late 16th century.[2] The north tower is the bell tower. Its foundation is said to have been laid in 1392, and to have been finished in 1417.[3] Various styles of the intervening period are represented in the rest of the church.

The elaborate north transept and portal are in the late Gothic flamboyant style; the choir, the finest part of the interior, is in an earlier Gothic architectural style. Jean Balue, bishop of Évreux in the second half of the 15th century, constructed the octagonal central tower, with its elegant spire. In August 1465, King Louis XI granted Bishop Balue a subsidy from the gabelle to allow him to resume work on the restoration of the Cathedral, which had begun under the patronage of Charles VII but which had ceased from lack of funds.[4] To Balue is also due the Lady chapel, which is remarkable for its finely preserved stained glass. Two rose windows in the transepts and the carved wooden screens of the side chapels are masterpieces of 16th-century workmanship.

The bishop's palace, a building of the 15th century, adjoins the south side of the cathedral.

A thorough restoration was completed in 1896.

The stained glass windows were destroyed during World War II but were restored by Jean-Jacques Grüber in 1953. The spire, called "Clocher d’Argent", rises to a height of 75m after its reconstruction after being bombed during the Second World War.

The organ

The new organ was built in 2006 by the Atelier Quoirin of Saint-Didier, organ builders, and contains around 4000 pipes. The inaugural concerts have been given by famous organists, such as Thierry Escaich, Pierre Pincemaille or André Isoir.[5]

  • General view from the Iton river
  • The Gothic choir
  • North transept façade
  • The octagonal central tower
  • The walnut pulpit, sculpted by the monk Guillaume de la Tremblaye, 1675
  • The new organ

References
  1. Grant, Lindy. Architecture and Society in Normandy 1120-1270, Yale University Press, 2005, p. 210ISBN 9780300106862
  2. "Evreux Cathedral", The Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture, Vol. 1, (Colum Hourihane, ed.), OUP USA, 2012ISBN 9780195395365
  3. Winkles, Benjamin. "Evreux Cathedral", Famous cathedrals as seen and described by great writers, (Esther Singleton, ed.), Dodd, Mead & company, 1909, p. 157 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. Goyau, Georges. "Evreux." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 26 June 2019 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. "Orgue nouveau à Evreux" [New organ in Evreux] (PDF). Orgues nouvelles (in French): 20. 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2019.

Sources

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Evreux". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

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