The Église Saint-Crépin-et-Saint-Crépinien in Serches preserves Romanesque features from the 12th century; at the same time, two named circular walks lead to or through the village. The Templar commandery and a gate in Dhuizy, visible from the road, also give the village’s history a tangible form. Different details are useful for planning your route: Les Chouettes is a four-hour circular walk, while the other circular walk has more than 700 metres of cumulative ascent.
Romanesque architecture at the church
The Église Saint-Crépin-et-Saint-Crépinien was built in the 12th century to a simple Latin cross plan. The Romanesque church retains the south wall of the nave with arcades and double archivolts, the base of the bell tower, and 12th-century vaults in the arms of the transept. The nave and transept refer to different parts of the building; the cross-shaped plan helps show how these elements form part of a single layout. A double archivolt is a two-part arch frame around the arcades and describes the surviving articulation on the south wall.
The church’s furnishings include historic items, among them a 14th-century statue of the Virgin and Child. The architecture and furnishings offer different points of interest: the plan and several structural elements relate to the Romanesque church, while the statue, as a single furnishing, marks a distinct period.
The Templar commandery and historic buildings
The Ancienne commanderie des Templiers du Mont-de-Soissons is located in Mont-de-Soissons in Serches. Its protected 13th-century buildings include a chapel, a main building and a barn. The site is therefore described differently from the church: here, the focus is on several building components, while the church stands out particularly for its plan and surviving structural features. The three named building types give the complex a different architectural layout from that of a single church building.
The gate in the hamlet of Dhuizy
The Porche de l'ancien château médiéval de Serches is located in the hamlet of Dhuizy. It was built in the 17th century as a gate and enclosure wall for a medieval castle that no longer exists. The gate is visible from the road to every passerby. This makes it possible to distinguish the structure’s date from its purpose: the gateway dates from the 17th century, but its function belonged to an older castle complex. Its name refers to Serches, while its precise location is the hamlet of Dhuizy.
Two circular walks, different planning details
The Les Chouettes circular walk follows paths along the slopes before reaching the village of Serches. Its stated duration is four hours. The Vallées et vallons du Soissonnais circular walk passes through Serches; its cumulative ascent is more than 700 metres. The two figures describe different things: the duration is given for Les Chouettes, while the Soissonnais circular walk is described by its total elevation gain. When comparing the walks, you can therefore first consider whether the duration or cumulative ascent is more relevant to your plans. The details can be considered side by side without treating them as the same measure.
Several specific time periods
For an overview of the local heritage, it is worth looking at each building in turn: the church and its surviving vaults date to the 12th century, while the commandery’s protected buildings date to the 13th century. The statue of the Virgin and Child is from the 14th century. The Porche was built in the 17th century, but served as the gate and enclosure wall of a medieval castle. These dates relate to different buildings and one furnishing. This makes it possible to place each historical reference in context rather than grouping them into a single building phase.
Discover more destinations: Vauxbuin, Connigis, Dole, Braine, Parfondeval, La Fere, Guise, Suzy.
For the broader travel overview: Aisne.
