1806. Monastic buildings entirely demolished; had served as residence of Kings of France when in Rouen—Henri II., Charles IX., Henri III., Henri IV., and Louis XIII.
1845. West front erected by order of the Government under Louis Philippe; architect, M. Grégoire.
The Church of St. Maclou stands back a few paces from the east side of the Rue de la République, and one comes upon its wondrous display of delicately carved stone all of a sudden. It is an exquisite example of the Flamboyant style, having been commenced in 1436 and completed about 1480. The present spire was only finished in 1868, the previous one, covered with lead, having suffered much through a storm, and later during the Revolution.
The wonderful doors, with their remarkable carving, and the splendid tympanum above the central one, date between the years 1527 and 1560. In that period it is possible that some of the carving was executed by Jean Goujon, who was afterwards killed in the massacre of St. Bartholomew. St. Maclou was a Scotsman who went to Brittany, was made Bishop of Aleth, and died in 561. The first church dedicated to him was built in the tenth century outside the walls of Rouen. A passage on the north side of the Rue Martainville (which runs from the north side of St. Maclou) leads into the Aître St. Maclou, a picturesque little cloister built in 1526, surrounding a paved courtyard, which was a burial-ground at the time of the plague of 1348—the Black Death that claimed 100,000 victims in the city.
Jeanne d’Arc.—The tragedy of the
THE TOWERS OF ST. OUEN AT ROUEN.
St. Ouen is, next to the Cathedral, the finest church of Rouen.