Fougeré

FOUGERÉ (Maine-et-Loire)

French original

La paroisse de Fougeré paraît exister dès la fin du XI^èmesiècle. La terre, titrée de Baronnie, comprenait de nombreux petits fiefs avec châteaux et manoirs des XV^èmeet XVI^ème siècles : l'Aulnière, Gâtine, la Dosdeferrière, la Gauleraie, la Flosselière, la Perdrière. Le village, groupé au pied de la flèche torse de l'église Saint Etienne, compte plusieurs demeures du XVII^ème et XVIII^ème siècles, dont le presbytère couvert d'une toiture à comble brisé. Ce village comprend actuellement une population de 760 habitants après avoir eu un maximum de 1593 habitants au début du XIX^ème siècle (1831). Situé sur la bordure nord-ouest du plateau Baugeois qui culmine à 90-100 mètres, il occupe une surface de 2 418 hectares. Trois cours d'eau drainent cet espace, le Verdun qui coule à quelques centaines de mètres à l'est du bourg et deux affluents, le Grez et le Follet, qui passent à l'ouest, au pied de l'église après leur confluence.

Max Thibault, Maire

The parish of Fougeré seems to have existed as early as the late 11^th century. The land, which was a barony, consisted of numerous small fiefs each with its own châteaux and manors dating back to the 15^th and 16^th centuries: the Aulnière, Gâtine, the Dosdeferrière, the Gauleraie, the Flossselière, the Perdrière. The village, clustered around the spiral spire of the church dedicated to Saint-Etienne, has several 17^th and 18^th-century mansions, including the presbytery with its dual-pitch roof. The village now has a population of 760 inhabitants, though there used to be a maximum of 1593 inhabitants in the early 19^th century (1831). Situated on the north-west edge of the Beaugeois plateau, which reaches an altitude of 300 feet, it has an area of 5975 acres. The area is watered by three streams, the Verdun flowing a few hundred yards east of the village and two tributaries, the Grez and the Follet, flowing at the foot of the church after their confluence.

Max Thibault, Mayor

Clocher du XII^èmesiècle et flèche torse - 12^th-century tower and spiral spire

The church dates back to the 11^thcentury but underwent numerous alterations in the 16^thand 19^thcenturies. The wall of the nave were erected in the late 11^th or early 12^thcentury. The arch of the southern doorway is typically Romanesque, with its two rows of interlocking arch-stones (engrenures). In the 19^thcentury, the nave was pierced with large windows to replace the narrow Romanesque openings and a bay was added. The 12^th-century tower is surmounted by one of the few spiral spires in the region. The 13th-century choir is a good example of Plantagenet vaulting.

The keystones of the Plantagenet vault of the choir are cerved with various figures: angels, mystic Lamb, God, Orant.

Voûte de la nef - Vault of the nave ******* Clefs de voûte: anges - Keystones: angels

Clef de voûte: Orant - Keystone: Orant

Much less common, are the graffiti discovered on the northern exterior wall of the nave: probably carved by crusaders, they represent a cross, the fall of Antioch and the walls of Jerusalem.

Fougeré

Location and nearby churches