Saint Pois Vue 01 Anibas PhotographySome say that Percy’s origins date back to Gallo-Roman times, but in the absence of archaeological evidence, the first mentions of Percy in official texts date back to the Middle Ages, when various seigneuries succeeded one another at the head of this still very rural village.
Percy Fete Foraine Anibas Photography
Percy Eglise 02 Anibas PhotographyIndustrial and technological progress gradually changed Percy’s appearance, notably in 1905 when the village was connected to the electricity grid, allowing the first train on the Granville line to pass through four years later.
It was during the Second World War that Percy’s history took a completely different turn. In 1944, the Germans occupied the canton and established their headquarters in the village.
On July 29, American forces arrived in Percy and bloody fighting broke out. The SS troops did not withdraw until August 2, 1944. After the Liberation, General de Gaulle was welcomed to Percy on Sunday June 10, 1945. It is estimated that around 20,000 shells were dropped on Percy during these events, leaving the town bloodless and severely damaged.
In 1953, under the administration of Mayor Michel Loreille, a vast reconstruction program was launched. Numerous public infrastructures were built, marking the beginning of a period of renewal for the town.
As you stroll through the town, you’ll be sure to recognize the buildings of the Reconstruction period, most of them in concrete, with their sober, utilitarian lines.
Le Chefresne Temples 02 Anibas PhotographyNestled in the Sienne basin, Le Chefresne takes its name from the ash tree common in our forests. Some sources also claim that the village’s name comes from an old story about a Protestant pastor, Eugène Sabattier, who was struck by lightning while standing under an ash tree, right next to the temple under construction at the time. Simple coincidence or irony of fate, the ash tree is also sometimes called “the devil’s tree that attracts lightning”.
That said, the pastor’s strange, early death is still the subject of all manner of rumors, from the least original to the most fanciful. Others say that the pastor, at the edge of the temple, saw a young girl making the sign of the Catholic cross. He then mocked her, brandishing his cane in retaliation. At the same moment, a bolt of lightning struck his makeshift weapon, killing him instantly.
After the pastor’s death, construction work was abandoned as too costly.
From this Protestant past, attested to as early as 1553, the village has kept two ruined temples, unique in the Manche and listed as historic monuments, which can still be admired today. Right next to the large temple is the Protestant cemetery where some 200 people are buried, including the famous pastor Eugène Sabattier …
Le Chefresne Temples 01 Anibas PhotographyThe village takes its name from Saint-Pair, the 6th-century bishop of Avranches, whose virtue is said to have been so great that he was canonized during his lifetime.
Known for its “Bleu de Vire” granite deposits, Saint-Pois soon became a center for the extraction of this resistant stone with its bluish undertones. Want to find out more about the history of granite in La Manche? Visit the Parc-Musée du Granit at Saint-Michel de Montjoie. Largely open-air, this original museum lets you discover the methods used to extract the stone, as well as the life of the quarrymen, the workers in charge of cutting the blocks.
Saint Pois Bourg 2020 Sabina Lorkin Anibas Photography
Saint Pois Eglise Anibas PhotographyThe Revolution made Saint-Pois the administrative center of the canton, and from 1800 onwards, this led to the transformation of the town, with the construction of five major roads to facilitate access to the village. As a result, Saint-Pois saw a significant demographic increase, with the construction of bourgeois houses inhabited by the town’s notables.
Located on the Route du Granit, a 50 km itinerary winding its way along the Sée valley, Saint-Pois boasts architectural treasures including a neo-Gothic church, 19th-century washhouses and, above all, magnificent panoramic views over the Sée valley.
