Église Notre-Dame De Calais
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Église Notre-Dame ("The Church of Our Lady") is a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
located on Rue de la Paix, in
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
, department of
Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...
, in northern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It dates from the 12th century, and chiefly from the 14th century. Arguably, it is the only church built in the English perpendicular style in all of France.


History

The church was damaged during the early wars between France and England, especially in 1346–47, after the
Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King Edward III. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France ...
. Many of the kings and queens of France and England prayed here; and John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners is buried in the church choir. On 11 July 1469
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (21 October 144918 February 1478), was the sixth child and third surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of English kings Edward IV and Richard III. He p ...
, the third surviving son of
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Plantag ...
, and
Cecily Neville Cecily Neville (3 May 1415 – 31 May 1495) was an English noblewoman, the wife of Richard, Duke of York (1411–1460), and the mother of two Kings of England—Edward IV and Richard III. Cecily Neville was known as "the Rose of Raby", becaus ...
, and the brother of English Kings
Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
and
Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
, was married to Isabel Neville, by Rt. Revd. George Neville,
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
. The tower of Notre Dame church was used as an observation point for the
Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790) The Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790) was the geodetic survey to measure the relative position of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Royal Greenwich Observatory and the Paris Observatory via triangulation (surveying), triangulation. The English ...
, which used
trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics concerned with relationships between angles and side lengths of triangles. In particular, the trigonometric functions relate the angles of a right triangle with ratios of its side lengths. The fiel ...
to calculate the precise distance between the
Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (, ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Ban ...
and the
Royal Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...
. Cross-channel sightings were made in September and October 1787 of signal lights at
Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some writers say it is the ...
and Fairlight Down, and vice versa. In 1785, after the first hot air balloon crossing of the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
by
Jean-Pierre Blanchard Jean-Pierre rançoisBlanchard (; 4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of gas balloon flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon. Notable for his successful hydrogen balloo ...
,
Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
ordered the balloon and boat be hung up in the church. In 1843 some medieval paintings were discovered under a thick coat of whitewash by Monsieur. C. de Rheims. One comprised a female figure holding in her right hand an orange coloured shield charged with nine ''bezants d’or''; her left hand resting on a spear with banner displayed, and charged as the shield. At her feet was a kneeling figure; in the background a fortified city. Another painting represented the Virgin with the infant Jesus, and a figure, apparently a bishop with episcopal staff, kneeling and invoking her. Each of the frescoes was surrounded with a border on which the motto ''Le Jour Viendra'' occurred ten times, alternately separated by a club of gold entwined with branches and flowers, with the arms of the Woodhouse family, one of whom was the embellisher of the church and the originator of the paintings. At the bottom of the former painting was written ''Orate pro anima Thoms Wodehous''. It was classified as a
historical monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
on 13 September 1913.
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
and Yvonne Vendroux were married in the church on 7 April 1921. It was bombarded by Allied Forces on 23 September 1944. It was substantially damaged and the bell tower fell through the roof into the north transept. A campaign of restoration began in the 1960s. *1963-1973: Reconstruction of the nave and bell tower *1976 onwards: Addition of stained glass windows by Gérard Lardeur *2002-2013: Restoration of the choir and chapel.


Architecture and fittings

The church is large and has a fortress-like appearance. Its layout is in the shape of a Latin cross. There is a large
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
with aisles, north and south
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...
s, a choir with choir-aisles, and a side chapel. A notable feature is the high altar, mostly completed by 1626, which has carvings and
bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
. A pedestal and a statue are dated 1628, while two other statues were added in 1629, and the balustrades finished in 1648. It was made by Adam Lottman. The painting “the Assumption of the Virgin” is by
Gerard Seghers Gerard SeghersGerard Seghers
at the
. Among the works of art is a painting once considered by
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...
of the ''Descent from the Cross''. It is in fact by Pieter Van Mol.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eglise Notre-Dame De Calais 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France Buildings and structures in Calais Churches in Pas-de-Calais Monuments historiques of Pas-de-Calais George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence