Saint Michael of Vitotel
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In
the XIIth century, Hugues de Vitotel donated the church of St. Michael at
Vitotel to the chapter of the Cathedral of Evreux.
In
the year 1230 the church was built almost exactly as it stands today, and since
its completion, it has not been subjected to any significant addition or
modification. The rectangular interior beneath its original ogival vaults
measures 20m70mm long and 5m37mm wide, narrowing to 4m90mm at the farthest end
of the choir, and is liturgically oriented from east to west.
The
stair tower at the southwest corner is built of cut stone and lit by small,
rectangular windows. The tower is capped with a broken point of pyramidal
stone.
The little wooden porch that once
sheltered the main door was demolished in 1916, and one now gains access to the
choir by the other door. In the gable wall near the stair tower one
can still see the angled frame of a door that once communicated with the
presbytery.
With
the exception of two east windows in the nave that were made larger, all the
openings still maintain their original size.
The
bell tower is unique in this region for having kept its wooden covering, a form
of siding once widely used in Normandy.In 1842 the village of Vitotel had 104
inhabitants. Joining the commune of Vitot on the 1st of January 1844, the
village of Vitotel became the “hamlet” of Vitotel . Today there are few
inhabitants, and only its church—classed as a historical monument—bears witness
to the importance of this once-thriving parish.
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