Discover Essuiles

Explore Essuiles through three themes: Saint-Martin Church and its artworks, historic traces around Saint-Rimault, and roads winding through the countryside. If you are planning a stay, you can consider the area’s cultural history and find your way around at the same time. The history of its buildings, individual works of art and former seats of power tell different stories and offer insight into the different historical layers of the village.

Saint-Martin Church and its artworks

Saint-Martin Church in Essuiles is a building dating from the 12th and 15th centuries. Inside are an equestrian statue of Saint Martin and a gilded wooden altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary from the 15th century. Also on display are the painting “Songes de saint Martin,” a wooden lectern in the Louis XVI style from the 18th century, and the “Passion” altarpiece. The church thus brings together different art forms, materials and periods: woodwork alongside a painting and an altarpiece. The lectern belongs stylistically to the Louis XVI period; the reference to the 18th century indicates its date. Together with the building’s history, the furnishings offer several perspectives on Saint-Martin rather than focusing on just one object.

The “Passion” altarpiece

The “Passion” altarpiece dates from the first half of the 16th century and has divided picture panels. When opened, it depicts scenes from the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. The closed panels show episodes from the life of a saintly figure, probably identified as Saint Nicholas. The images therefore differ depending on how the altarpiece is viewed; the identification of the saintly figure remains tentative. Made locally in the Beauvais area, the work imitates models from Antwerp and Brussels. It thus brings together regional craftsmanship and pictorial models from other European art centres. When viewing it, look for the divided panels, the different scenes and the links to these models: they give the work more than just a single historical reference.

Historical traces around Saint-Rimault

The origins of Saint-Rimault Chapel date back to before 1220. It should be distinguished from the former castle chapel, Chapelle Saint-Jacques, which still stands today. The fiefdom of La Motte once included a fortified castle in a marshy area, surrounded by moats. A chapel and a château were also once associated with what is now Ferme de la Tour. The ornamental garden of Château de Saint-Rimault is listed in France’s General Inventory of Cultural Heritage. The local history thus encompasses different forms and periods: a former castle chapel that has survived, a former castle complex and the historic connection to Ferme de la Tour. This distinction in time helps avoid conflating surviving buildings with former uses.

Roads and getting around

The D938 departmental road crosses Essuiles from west to east. Its route follows the former Chaussée Brunehaut and passes Ferme de la Tour and the hamlets of Saint-Rimault and Hatton. The D151 runs from Agnetz to Grandvilliers along the right bank of the Brêche, passing through Hatton and Coiseaux. The differences are clear for navigation: the D938 crosses Essuiles from west to east, while the D151 is described by its endpoints and its route along the Brêche. If you plan to use either road, check the current traffic arrangements.

Mural and sculpture in Saint-Rimault

The Saint-Rimault water tower bears a mural created in 1992 that can be seen in the surrounding area. Saint-Rimault Church also contains the statue “Vierge en majesté,” a carved wooden sculpture painted in polychrome. Compared with the “Passion” altarpiece, it presents a different approach to the image: here, a brightly painted wooden figure stands alongside a work with divided picture panels. Such differences make the artworks in Essuiles and Saint-Rimault interesting in their own ways, without sharing the same form or visual language.

Discover more destinations: Courtieux, Fontaine-Lavaganne, Compiègne, Noyon, Belle-Eglise, Airion, Beauvais, Auteuil

For the broader travel overview: Oise.