Folleville.
Folleville, with the ruins of its Château and its church, is one of the most interesting places in Picardy, for archæologists. The ruins of the Château (late 14th and early 15th century), situated on a hill, from which there is a very extensive view, are most imposing. The corner towers are round; that in the middle of the northern curtain is over 80 feet high, and is first round, then hexagonal, and finally twelve-sided. In proportion as it rises, it overhangs by means of moulded corbels, which bold design gives it a larger diameter at the top than at the base.
Folleville Chateau
The castle, which began to fall into ruins in the 17th century, was further damaged at the time of the Revolution. It is rich in historical memories. In 1440, it was taken by the English, under Counts Somerset and Talbot, and served for a long time as their headquarters. Under Charles IX, the castle served as a meeting-place for the Protestants. Later, the Leaguers had a garrison there. In February 1592, Henri IV fought a battle in the neighbourhood, against the troops of the Duke of Parma. St. Vincent-de-Paul lived there as tutor to M. de Bondi's children, and it was at Folleville that he inaugurated the missions which were the chief aim of the Congregation founded by him.
Tomb of Raoul de Lannoy and his wife
Tomb of François de Lannoy and his wife.
Folleville Church.
The church (Hist. Mon.) standing near the ruined Château, comprises a late 14th century nave and an early 16th century choir. The latter, intended as a burial chapel for the owners of the castle, is the more richly decorated. Its buttresses are surmounted with pinnacles, on one of which is a niche containing a statue of the Virgin. The pointed timber-work vaulting of the nave is among the finest in the Département of the Somme, and is decorated with satirical and chimerical carvings. The pulpit is the one from which, on January 25, 1671, St. Vincent-de-Paul preached the sermon which was the starting-point of his Missions. The wooden seats in the nave are ancient. The white marble font is girt with the historical chain of the de Lannoy family, connected by four shields bearing the arms of Folleville, Lannoy, Broix and Hangest. It stands on a small pedestal of grey stone, ornamented at the corners with four carved acanthus leaves. The arches of the stone vaulting of the choir rest on small brackets carved with various motifs.
Of the two chapels on either side of the choir, that on the left, known as the Virgin Chapel, was used by the owners of the castle. The right-hand one (St. Vincent-de-Paul), is modern in its fittings and decoration (1868).
The choir contains several very famous monuments, the finest being the mausoleum of Raoul de Lannoy and Jeanne de Broix; the white marble sarcophagus is the work of Italian artists (the de Portas); the stone niche which shelters the sarcophagus contains delicate French carvings. The whole forms one of the most remarkable works of the Renaissance period. The neighbouring tomb is that of François de Lannoy and Marie de Hangest; some of the carvings greatly resemble those of Cardinal Hémard de Denonville's tomb in the Cathedral of Amiens.
An ancient stained-glass window near the tomb of Raoul de Lannoy is dedicated to St. Anthony and St. John-the-Evangelist. Above the door of the sacristy are carved marble medallions. The church used to possess a very ancient pall, now in the Museum at Amiens.