Church St PIERRE 17th century
The Saint Peter dedicated church was built in the 11th century but went under major rework both in the 17th and 19th century.
The oldest mention of the church dates back to the 12th century when Simon de Beuville partially donated the Beuville parish to the Saint-Etienne Abbey in Caen.
At the heart of the parish and its surrounding walls, the church and its yard were also a burial grounds. In 1927 roadwork meant to widen the Route du Lion (now called the Haute-Rue) led to the discovery of a dozen Early Middle Ages sarcophagi on the edge of the graveyard. This is further proof that this place was inhabited and consecrated well before the 11th century.
A bell-gable was added on top of the nave during the 17th century but was replaced by the current neo-romanesque bell tower in the 19th century. As for the interior’s wood panelling, they were installed sometimes during the 18th century.
Due to the merger that tied the two towns in 1952, Biéville-Beuville is home to two catholic churches and therefore is a dual bell-tower town !
Before it was repurposed as as a private home in 1965, Beuville also had a protestant temple (at 4 Haute-Rue) since 1835. Both catholics and protestants lived with great tolerance for each other as the church and the temple stood close.
The presence of the protestant community dates a long time back in Beuville. After Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, numerous clandestine gatherings were held at night in the quarries that were then near the highest point of the road between Beuville and Colleville. One of those quarries was even nicknamed ‘the Huguenots’ pit.’
