Eglise de saint-jean-d'abbetot

The Saint-Jean d?Abbetot church is located in a hamlet in the commune of Cerlangue, on the Seine Valley plateau before Le Havre. Its history, architecture and decorations make this church a very special place, and in 2024 it was awarded the Label Patrimoine Rural de la Seine-Maritime.

Between 1050 and 1060, the parish of Saint-Jean d?Abbetot was given to the canons of Boscherville by Raoul de Tancarville, Chamberlain to William the Conqueror.
At the end of the 11th century, they built a church dedicated to Saint-Jean, of which all that remains is the tower of the transept crossing above the choir and its Romanesque crypt. The high quality of the Norman Romanesque architecture in this part of the building reflects the power of the Boscherville Abbey. This richness is linked to the stone used for construction, which comes not from the Seine Valley, but from Caen.
The crypt, as is its function, houses the relics of a Saint-Jean who is said to have been bishop of Bayeux. This magnificent crypt is only accessible from the outside via a vestibule. The nave, partly destroyed over time, was rebuilt in the 16th century and remodeled in the 18th.
The church?s other outstanding feature is the preservation of its 14th, 15th and 16th century murals, restored in 1855 by the painter Anatole d?Auvergne. Their beauty lends the building great originality and historical value.

The church became a communal property at the beginning of the 19th century and almost disappeared in 1835. It was nevertheless considered one of the most beautiful in the Pays de Caux, and Abbé Cochet saved it with his 1840 inventory of Monuments Historiques. After several phases of restoration, Saint-Jean church now shines out in the middle of the hamlet and the countryside.

The church can be visited during the day, and is open during the Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days) in September. Its inclusion in hiking trails and touring exhibitions makes it a living historical monument on a daily basis.