Place Faidherbe.
(At the end of Rue de Roye, which comes out into Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville. See p. 98).]
At the bottom of the left aisle, a reclining statue was said to depict Count Raoul de Crépy, and to have formed part of the tomb which the Count had built in the 11th century, while still alive. This statue escaped destruction during the Revolution, and was deposited in the church in 1862. As a matter of fact, it probably dates from the 13th or 14th century, and does not represent Raoul de Crépy.
In the adjoining chapel is a Burial Scene comprising seven figures grouped around that of Christ. As in the Tomb of St. Germain-les-Fossés at Amiens, Mary Magdalene occupies the centre of the group, whereas this place is usually reserved for the Virgin.
The font (probably 11th. century) is the oldest known specimen of the type used in Picardy between the 11th and 16th centuries. The low, square basin rests on five supports, the principal one being in the centre, the other four lesser columns at the corners. The columns, originally in stone, were replaced in the course of time by wooden ones. A belt ornamented with eight heads of rather primitive design runs round the basin. The rest of the decoration, much defaced, includes two entwined heads, grapes, and doves drinking out of a vase.
The tomb, said to be that of Raoul de Crépy, the "Burial Scene" and the font are believed to lie buried under the débris.
The organ loft, composed of the remains of fine Renaissance wood carving of uncertain origin, was destroyed.
Keep along Rue St. Pierre to Place de la Croix-Bleue, in which stood the Statue of Parmentier (by Malknecht), erected in 1848. Only the pedestal remains. Parmentier, who introduced and popularized potato growing in France, was a native of Montdidier.
