We are particularly fond of this vintage postcard as it is the only one we have every seen with a snowy Normandy scene. It is a picture of Chapelle Saint-Vincent in Launay, probably on a Christmas Eve many years ago.
Chapelle Saint Vincent, Launay, Normandy – Match!
Somehow we tracked the nameless chapel down to Launay, near Ernemont-la-Villette, down Rue la Chapelle. Of course. Except it wasn’t obvious at all.
The handy road name was not on any of our maps and the chapel sits in the only bit of Launay that is not in Launay. There are no signs to this little bit of heritage in the surrounding roads and not even a name outside to let you know you are in the right place.
We are extremely grateful to some charming locals who pointed us in the right direction.
Chapelle Saint Vincent, Normandy, brickwork and timber frame
The chapel is unusual for having a wood frame in a region of solid stone ecclesiastical architecture, but any concerns over it’s structural vulnerability are unnecessary, it has stood here since the 18th century and is now carefully protected by the Observatoire du Patrimoine religieux, the OPR, a non denominational organisation that works to save France’s religious heritage. Chapelle Saint Vincent’s future is safe. Probably.
Chapelle Saint Vincent Normandy
All you need for a chapel
On the day we visited the chapel was locked. Weeds growing around the door suggested no-one had been inside for many months. So we peered through dusty windows and saw simple pews, a cross, an ancient stone font and in one corner a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Wiki says a funeral litter of the Bouracher family is inside, adorned with the sky blue family coat of arms of a silver cross and five ermine speckles.
The Bouracher family owned a local manor from around 1470, upgraded to a castle in the 17th century then in the early 18th century Louis François Le Bourracher Lord of Launay, had the castle rebuilt again when he became a father in 1754. He was not to know his son would die just 30 years later, the last in his line.
A once grand family now rarely spoken of, the privacy of their darkest ceremonial accoutrements at Chapelle Saint Vincent, are assured.
It will happen, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but spend any amount of time in Normandy and you will eventually get rained on. A lot. Well you could... You can of course hole up in your apartment/gite/hotel room/tent, catch up on emails and post pics from sunnier days on Facebook to cheese off the…
Bayeux Cathedral Travellers have been writing about this region since the saints trudged Christianity through it's pagan highways and byways more than a thousand years ago. By the time Frederic George Stephens arrived for a tour in the 1860's, Normandy had been so well described he was hard pressed to be original in his reporting.…
Up on the hill above Arromanches-les-Bains we looked down on the bay that became known as Gold Beach on 6 June 1944. We were matching a postcard of four survivors, soldiers who had arrived on D-Day. We know the photo was taken shorty after D-Day as the Mulberry Harbours, essential for landing provisions, are not yet…
A damp gloomy day in the Manche seemed the perfect day for exploring a Neolithic site high on a wild hill. So we went to Mont Castré, near Lithaire. Now a protected park, for years the Mont was quarried by by the Western Granite Company. All that remains now are a lake, a few buildings…
Normandy ‘then’ often means D-Day and 1944 bravery. Or perhaps Vikings swooping in from the North bringing warrior ancestors to William, Duke of Normandy, Conqueror of England. Their battles are muted by time. We know they were terrible, that people suffered, others crowed in victory, but we do not see the warm blood or…
Hello! Welcome to Normandy Then and Now. We are touring Normandy with a bundle of bewitching vintage postcards aiming to match each view. Led by these carte postale, found in brocantes from Calais to Cherbourg, our travels are uncovering lots of: hidden histories beautiful art stunning architecture wonderful food fascinating stories (and salacious gossip!) All from the unique French…
Tucked away in Gallica, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, are a handful of holiday photograph albums. One remembers a group of friends who set off from Paris in 1902, heading for the sunny beaches and pretty orchards around Yport. By the look of it they had a very good time. Born 100 years later these carefree…
