Assevillers offers three different historical perspectives: the Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, which bears the “Architecture contemporaine remarquable” label; the Neolithic Grès de Saint-Martin polissoir in front of the church; and Assevillers New British Cemetery. Architecture, prehistoric stoneworking and remembrance of the First World War give the village a distinctive breadth of themes. When planning your trip, you can first decide whether to focus on architectural history, archaeological evidence or remembrance.

The church and the civic block

The Église Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption was built in construction campaigns in 1923 and 1930, to plans by architect Louis Duthoit. It bears the “Architecture contemporaine remarquable” label, a permanent heritage designation for remarkable contemporary architecture. The mairie-école stands directly beside the church, completing the civic block. This makes it possible to look beyond the church itself and consider the neighbouring municipal building. The two construction campaigns and the architect’s name provide specific historical reference points.

The Grès de Saint-Martin

The Grès de Saint-Martin is preserved on a landscaped green space in front of the church. The triangular grey sandstone block is 2.60 metres long. As a Neolithic polissoir, it bears polishing hollows and grooves used to sharpen stone tools. Its shape and working therefore tell a story from a different period than the church’s architectural history: here, the focus is on Stone Age toolmaking.

A local legend offers its own interpretation of the depressions. It attributes them to Saint Martin’s horse and links the hollow to the healing of sick draft animals. Two different kinds of story thus meet at the same stone: its archaeological classification as a polissoir and a local tradition told as a legend.

Assevillers New British Cemetery

Assevillers New British Cemetery was established after the Armistice by bringing together graves from the Somme battlefields and other burial grounds. The cemetery commemorates more than 800 First World War casualties; two fifths of them are unidentified. Special memorials commemorate 25 soldiers and one airman from the United Kingdom who are known or believed to be buried there. The cemetery’s origins, the total number and the individual memorials each highlight a different aspect: from the consolidation of graves to remembrance of particular people.

For orientation, the cemetery is at the entrance to the village, beyond the A1 motorway and the high-speed railway line. Take this location into account when planning your journey.

Three historical periods

If you would like to arrange the themes chronologically, the sequence begins with the Neolithic polissoir, moves on to the cemetery established after the Armistice, and continues to the construction campaigns of 1923 and 1930. Assevillers thus brings together evidence from different historical periods: an object used for stoneworking, a place of remembrance and a church with its own architectural history.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Ailly-sur-Somme, Ailly-Sur-Noye, Vron, Longueval, Boves, Camon, Béhen, Glisy

For the broader travel overview: Somme.