059. Yquelon. The enfeu and its tombstone. In the north wall of the nave, an enfeu (recess for a tombstone) with a lowered centering houses a 12th-century tombstone in soft limestone depicting a knight. Mr Lomas described it in a journal named Bulletin of the Society of Antiquaries in Normandy (Bulletin de la Société des Antiquaires de Normandie) dated 1886-1887: "The tombstone bears a knight in relief, depicted with his hands clasped, his head resting on a pillow, and his greyhound at his feet. (...) It bears no indication of his name or no indication of a year. It is therefore impossible to specify the person whose remains are covered. What we can say with certainty is that this person belongs to the powerful family of Yquelon, whose family member Roger Yquelon affixed his signature on two main charters of the Abbey of the Lucerne in 1162." Discovered in 1885 in the cemetery adjoining the north of the church, the tombstone was embedded in the enfeu in February 1893. At the length of the enfeu, 2.15 meters, is exactly the length of the tombstone, we can guess the tombstone was probably buried in the cemetery at the time of the French Revolution, before being discovered in 1885 and regaining its original location. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-17]
060. Saint-Pair-sur-Mer. Location. The village of Saint-Pair-sur-Mer is located on the coast, 3.5 kilometers south of Granville. Saint-Pair-sur-Mer was a prosperous town and the vital center of the region until the construction of Granville in the 15th century. Many people moved to Granville then, at the expense of Saint-Pair. Saint-Pair grew again in 1880 with the development of seaside resorts. Medieval roads — a coast road and a shore road - were used by pilgrims from Saint-Pair to Mont Saint-Michel, and are still used today by "modern" pilgrims and visitors.
061. Saint-Pair-sur-Mer. The church is under St. Pair's patronage, and the second saint is St. Gaud. The church is a place of pilgrimage dedicated to the worship of St. Gaud, whose sarcophagus was found in 1131 during the building of the Romanesque church. Much later, in 1880, the Romanesque nave was demolished to be replaced by a much larger nave and a transept to accommodate the many parishioners of this popular seaside resort. The enlarged church was consecrated on August 26, 1888. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-18]
062. Saint-Pair-sur-Mer. The church is shown here from the north-east to get a view of the whole building. Photo by Marie Lebert. [Marie-07]