EGLISE NOTRE DAME DE CHEFFES

When you cross the porch of Notre Dame church overlooking the Sarthe, you enter the nave, built in 1855 to enlarge the church. The choir, transept and apse date from the second half of the 12th century and are listed buildings.

The stained glass windows in the nave depict the patron saints of the pious donors of the time. The older, narrower nave, with its small Romanesque openings and wooden vaulting, did not have such dimensions and light. The modern altar was built in 1967 at the transept crossing just below the bell tower. Sealed to the wall behind the altar, a curious slate plaque from 1167 recalls the details of the church's consecration. The goose carved in tufa stone comes from the ruins of a former dwelling in the Cheffois countryside. On leaving the church, take the lane leading down to the Sarthe: you'll see the bell tower and its slightly twisted slate spire (this twisting may simply be due to the natural deformation of the wood; the roof structure dates from the 17th century).