Saint-Quentin-des-Prés brings together historic churches from several construction periods and a rural cultural landscape of watercourses, hedgerows, fruit trees and sheep farming. When choosing a destination, you can consider whether you are more interested in religious architecture or in the interplay between agriculture and landscape.

Watercourses and a rural cultural landscape

Two local watercourses meet in Saint-Quentin-des-Prés. From there, they flow past Mothois and onward into the Epte. This course links the named places and waterways in a specific sequence through the landscape. Les Vergers de Mothois adds an agricultural perspective: the farm is located in an organically managed valley with a hedgerow landscape. Its activities include sheep farming, apple trees, aromatic and medicinal plants, and berry fruit. Sheep graze between the rows of apple trees; here, crop farming and livestock rearing come together. Alongside the churches, this offers another facet of the place: its rural, agriculture-shaped character.

Churches from different construction periods

The Église Saint-Quentin combines several construction periods. Its nave was built in the 11th century and is an example of herringbone masonry. The term describes a pattern in which the stones are laid at an angle, resembling fish bones. The bell tower, built in the 13th century, is still standing. The choir and south chapel probably date from the 15th century; the chapel contains the church’s only stone vault. The building thus brings together an early nave, a later tower and parts that are probably newer.

The Église Saint-Germain in Mothois has a different character: it has a single nave and a three-sided apse. The choir is attributed mainly to the 16th century, and the nave to the 17th century. Its furnishings include a stone baptismal font from the early 13th century and a polychrome Baroque altarpiece from 1717. Polychrome means multicoloured and here describes the design of the altarpiece. In comparison with the Église Saint-Quentin, these two furnishings stand out in Mothois alongside the architectural elements.

A statue of the Virgin Mary and a broad span of time

The Vierge de Mothois adds a crowned and veiled figure of the Virgin Mary to the religious heritage. Stylistically, it is associated with images of the Virgin Mary from the late 12th or early 13th century. This dating is close in time to that of the stone baptismal font from the early 13th century. Together, the local heritage spans the period from the 11th-century nave of the Église Saint-Quentin to the altarpiece of 1717. In between are the 13th-century bell tower, the parts of Saint-Quentin probably dating from the 15th century, and the choir and nave of Saint-Germain, attributed to the 16th and 17th centuries respectively.

Discover more destinations: Ully-Saint-Georges, Breuil-le-Vert, Villeneuve-Sur-Verberie, Milly-Sur-Thérain, Chevrières, Béthisy-Saint-Martin, Vauciennes, Nanteuil-Le-Haudouin.

For the broader travel overview: Oise.