Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption

Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption church is located in the market town of La Plaine.

The original village once stood on the site of the Croix de Saint-Etienne. The inhabitants were invaded by the Normans and the old priory, at a place called "la croix Saint-Etienne", was certainly destroyed at that time.

The first church of Notre-Dame de La Plaine is thought to have been built around the year 1000. It was the first religious centre to be formed by the monks of Geneston, who depended on the Augustinian abbey of Sainte-Marie de Pornic.

According to Jean-Baptiste Ogée, the church was originally built on the site of an ancient Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to the Virgin Mary. A bell tower was added at the end of the 16th century.

The current church, dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, like several others in the Retz region, was built in the second half of the 19th century.

As you enter the church, on the left you will see a curious 17th-century font. It is the oldest piece of furniture in the church.
The stoup, made of black marble with white veins, bears an inscription reading:


a date, 3.1.1611. This date means that it is as old as the old bell tower;
a phrase that certainly identifies its donors: "Dieu fasse pardon à Georges Rolland et à Guillemette Davi sa femme" ("God forgive Georges Rolland and Guillemette Davi his wife");
as well as graffiti suggesting skulls below the rim.



The steeple of the building was used as a "bitter" for navigation, before being damaged many times over the centuries and having to be replaced.
Until the construction of the Sémaphore de la Pointe Saint-Gildas in 1862, the spire continued to be used as a sea wall.

Following a terrible hurricane on 28 March 1836, the old bell tower was completely demolished. This storm also weakened the structures of the rest of the church. Reconstruction of the building was essential.

The first period of reconstruction of the church began with the bell tower and its spire, between 1841 and 1845.
The bell tower consists of a massive quadrangular tower with four windows and dark sandstone chain-linked buttresses.
Its radiating semi-circular porch is built of clumsily carved schist stone.
Lastly, the bell tower has a pepperpot at its north-east corner, which houses the staircase used to access the bells. This external staircase turret dates from the late 16th century.

Work on this neo-Gothic church was completed in 1869.

More recently :

the interior of the church was renovated in 1993 - 1994,

the exterior of the building was renovated in 2004 - 2005,

and major work will be carried out on the belfry in 2021 - 2022, involving seven different trades.


Did you know?
During the Second World War, the bell tower was turned into an observation post! During the events in the Saint-Nazaire pocket, the German occupying forces installed an observation platform at the top of the tower to keep a constant watch.


To consult the mass schedule for the parish of Notre-Dame de la Côte de Jade, click here.

The little extras: Take advantage of a free tour to explore this site, rich in heritage and full of treasures.
The church discovery guide is available to download here or from the Tourist Office in La Plaine-sur-Mer for €2.