Discovery tour of Anisy

Self-taught artist from Normandy. Different tours to discover his works; routes-serge-saint-sculpteur.net

Purchased from the Auvray family in 1838, this house became the village school for 125 years. From 1948 onwards, the growing number of school-age children required the opening of a second class. It opened in the former living room of the second presbytery, which was located in Rue Charles Labutte. This situation lasted until 1963. The house then freed of its schoolchildren then became a town hall until 1988.

Painted in the colours of the Queen's own Rifles of Canada of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division which arrived to liberate the village on 06 June 1944. This regiment landed on D-Day at Bernières-sur-Mer.

Acquired by the parish in 1692, it formerly consisted of a manor house and various buildings with a courtyard, two gardens and several pieces of arable land.

On 24 August 1944, after the liberation of the village, a Royal Air Force medical unit set up a field hospital in this grassland. Several aircraft were also based here.

Built in the late 19th century and used until the early 20th century. Hand pumps were often powered by water from nearby ponds or groundwater.

The three-bay nave and the choir were built in the 11th and 12th centuries. Lancet windows were added in the 14th century. Romanesque door flanked by columns adorned with capitals and a fret-pattern arch. Side walls displaying herringbone masonry. High altar topped with a baroque altarpiece from the 17th century.

The foundations of a probable Gallo-Roman villa have been discovered here, as well as those of buildings and the remains of a late medieval fireplace.

A wood and limestone water well dating from the 19th century. The town had no less than 50 water wells before 1950. Now they are mostly situated on private properties.

A beautiful cross adorns the entrance to the old gate. During the occupation, the location of the kommandantur annex (which was in Colomby-sur-Thaon) was near this building. At D-Day, the officers who were there fled and set fire to the original building.

This was the location of one of the former school's classrooms (see no. 2), which was housed in the living room of the former presbytery (see no. 11).

Totally preserved during the bombardments of June 1944. The houses along it, characteristic of the housing of the Caen plain in the 18th century, are built of Creully limestone and the window frames are of cut Caen stone.

In the past, this was a farmhouse with a cart, which until 1980 was the village's grocery shop. During the Second World War a shell hit the façade, the restored impact point can still be seen.

This building, where the name of its former owner "Gombeaux" is still inscribed, was the village bakery in the 19th century.

In white granite since 1975, the Christ from the old wooden Calvary of 1932 has been replaced on the new one.

Former sanitary site for Allied soldiers in early July 1944.

Fed by numerous local springs, some of which are called vitouards (small streams with intermittent resurgences). It was said that the vitouard of Anisy sometimes aroused curiosity because it sometimes remained without flowing for several years and then suddenly grew and flooded the valley, penetrating houses, stables and barns to the point where it could drown livestock. The inhabitants had to flee, then the flooding stopped and the stream returned to its bed for several years. In the 20th century, the commune built an aqueduct under the road to remedy the problem of the water overflow. Once a dependency of Anisy castle, this pond was used to water the farmers' livestock, as there were no drinking troughs or washhouses in the commune. Today, we can find the "Alytes obstetricans" toad, which is the scientific name of the pond. This significant 5-centimetre long batrachian can be distinguished by the fact that the male, after mating with the female, takes care of the egg-laying, which he twists around his legs until the tadpoles are born. Great crested newts, as in the Anguerny pond, have also found refuge here.

The building belonged to the family of the Lords of Anisy. One of the members of this very old Norman family accompanied Duke Robert to the Holy Land during the first crusade in 1096. The d'Anisy family was one of the oldest in Normandy. This manor house is built on one of the four ancient fiefs of the village, from which the church also depends.