009. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The church, in ruins, stands on a hill. The church was under St Martin's patronage, and the second saint was St. Eutropius. The parish belonged to the deanery of St-Pair and the archidiachoné of Coutances. Foulques Paynel, probably a relative of Guillaume Paynel, founder of the Abbey of Hambye in 1145, gave to the abbey part of the tithe of the parish of Saint-Martin-le-Vieux, a donation mentioned in the cartulary of the Abbey of Hambye. During the French Revolution, the church was used as an arsenal and all its furniture was sold. It became a church again in 1801 but, as it was threatening to collapse around 1804 or 1805, it was no longer used. Since that time, the parish of Saint-Martin-le-Vieux is part of the parish of Bréhal. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-01]
010. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The Romanesque ruins, with a double belfry added in the 16th century. The ruins were overgrown by vegetation for a while. The masonry is made of irregular blocks in schist and granite. The arches and abutments of the openings are in granite. The schist is the local stone. The granit could come from the granite ground of Vire a few miles south. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-002]
011. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The Romanesque ruins. Between the choir and the nave, a double belfry (double because intended for two bells) was added in the 16th century, and built in pink granite from Chausey (an island not far from Granville). Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-003]
012. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The church plan. Regularly oriented from west to east, the rectangular building is formed by a long nave and a flat apse choir. The whole building has an external length of 26,5 meters and an external width of 6,4 meters (width of the front). The double belfry added in the 16th century rises between nave and choir. Plan by Marie Lebert.