Église Saint-Gilles, Medieval church in Levainville, France.
Saint-Gilles Church is a parish church built of rubble stone, about 20 metres long and 8.5 metres wide, with a 12.5-metre nave. Its slate roof was originally covered in tiles, as was the small bell tower. Above the portal are traces of the Cochefilet family coats of arms, and the keystone bears the Instruments of the Passion.
Until 1536 the chapel Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, founded by Georges Cochefilet, lord of Levainville, served the village and depended on the parish of Bleury. That year Jeanne d'Angest, Cochefilet's widow, obtained from the Bishop of Chartres its transformation into a parish church under the name Saint-Gilles. The church now belongs to the parish Bienheureuse Marie Poussepin in the Diocese of Chartres.
The 1894 stained glass windows are signed by glass painter Charles Lorin, son of Nicolas Lorin. They replaced earlier plain glass set in small diamond panes on lead frames. The seigneurial chapel window shows the Virgin, and the choir window shows Saint Gilles with a doe at his feet.
The building is accessible from outside and easy to spot through its stone structure and location in the village. Visitors should keep in mind it is an active religious site occasionally used for worship services.
A tombstone inside displays the figure of a knight seated on a lion, decorated with the coat of arms of a local family. This rare stone carving reveals the importance of influential families in the village's past.
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