The disappeared church

Ormesnil, which was once a parish and then a commune before it was attached to Frichemesnil, lost  its church dedicated to Notre Dame de Saint Adrien in the 20th century. This church was in the diocese of Rouen. Its patron was, alternatively, the lord of Clères or the archbishop. 

Ecclesiastical visits at the beginning of the 18th century  revealed an advanced state of decay. On the 20th September 1710 the Archdiacre A de Tourouve signalled that the nave was about to collapse in ruin because of the lack of solid bases beneath the walls. He advised the parishioners to approach the Intendant.

Four years later on the 2nd October 1714 a visit by the Archbishop of Rouen Mgr Claude Maur d’Aubigné confirmed and detailed the critical state of the building. Several things are defectuous. The ciborium was not gold-leafed, there was no box for the Saint Viatique, no countertable for the head altar, no bench or support above it and the stone is not consecrated. There was no support panelling in the sanctuary, no balustrade for communion and the choir was not closed. The chapels were  in bad condition and one of them had images that were hardly decent and had been partially mutilated and the altar was not consecrated. The other one was extremely filthy. The prayer chair was ‘useless’  and the nave paving stones were severely degraded. The structural  problems are major problems; the nave roof needed replacing and the bell tower roof and  carpentry were also in a very bad state. The walls of the nave curve outwards and have no structural support. One bell is broken, the    portal was covered with thatch and the fencing around the cemetery is incomplete. There were not enough religious objects and some of them were considered improper.

On the 14th October 1714, following this visit, the archdeacon gave strict orders for immediate repair work, under penalty of prohibition.