Église Saint-Silvin de Mautort, Romanesque church in Mautort district, Abbeville, France
Église Saint-Silvin de Mautort is a pale stone church in the Mautort suburb west of Abbeville. A square grey tower with a steep dark pyramidal roof and a small cross stands at one side; the main body has a dark hipped roof and tall pointed Gothic windows with stone tracery. The nave was raised and the bell tower heightened in the 14th century, and chapels were added, including the Virgin chapel, probably 15th-century, and the Saint-Peter chapel of the 17th century, reworked in 1879.
Built in the 11th century, it is the oldest church in Abbeville. The nave was raised and the bell tower heightened in the 14th century; the Virgin chapel dates probably from the 15th century and the Saint-Pierre chapel from the 17th, remodelled in 1879. Closed and sold as national property during the Revolution, it was restored for worship and has belonged to the municipality of Abbeville since 1875.
The church is the only one in the Diocese of Amiens dedicated to Saint Silvin, a hermit from Toulouse who died in the Diocese of Thérouanne. A relic of the saint is kept here; under the Ancien Régime it drew the faithful to a pilgrimage held each September. The parish also celebrated his feast on 15 February until 1607.
The church stands in the Mautort suburb west of Abbeville, in the Somme department. It belongs to the municipality of Abbeville, which has owned it since 1875, and upkeep is carried out by the Amis de Saint-Sylvin de Mautort, an association founded in 1983 and revived after religious furnishings were stolen in 2013.
Beneath the floor lies a burial vault belonging to the Tillette de Mautort and Clermont-Tonnerre families. This family heritage remains at the site following its transfer to municipal care.
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