Saint-Sauveur-Villages is a commune of the Channel in the Normandy region, 10 km north of Coutances and 15 km from the west coast of Cotentin.
The locality was created on January 1, 2019 following the merger of Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin, which is the seat (1712 inhabitants), Ancteville (250 inhabitants), Le Mesnilbus (334 inhabitants), La Ronde-Haye (355 inhabitants), Saint-Aubin-du-Perron (244 inhabitants), Saint-Michel-de-la-Pierre (215 inhabitants) and Vaudrimesnil (458 inhabitants). The entire new commune now has more than 3500 inhabitants and its area is 53 km².
The territory of Saint-Sauveur-Villages belongs to the Pays coutançais and presents a landscape of typical Norman grove, dotted with orchards and pastures dedicated to the breeding. This green environment, the rich heritage of the different villages now unified and the proximity of the coast make Saint-Sauveur-Villages a pleasant stopover during a stay in Normandy, nominated for lovers of green tourism and lovers of hiking in bucolic settings.
Shared under the Old Regime in small but often prosperous seigneuries mostly founded in the Middle Ages, the territory is rich with castles, manors and churches well preserved - despite the struggles of the Liberation in July 1944 - that the heritage buffs, "old stones" and history will discover during a circuit that can begin with the town of Saint-Sauveur-Lendelin. We admire the Church of St. Lawrence, whose foundations date back to the fourteenth century and whose bell tower is protected as historical monuments. Nearby, the cross of the old cemetery dates from 1571. See especially after, the mansion of Grand Taute erected at the end of the sixteenth century by an officer of justice, Jean Le Cocq. The well-preserved building was once the seat of an agricultural estate before a careful restoration was undertaken. His visit immerses the public in the daily life of a country lordship at the time of the Wars of Religion, as evidenced by the elements of defensive architecture. The bakery, the press, the barns and stables lined up around the courtyard, in front of the manor house, testify that one exploited all the agricultural resources of the Norman grove. Information on +33 2 33 19 08 10.
On the village, again, the castle of the Mares, later (XVIII), is beautifully made.
On Ancteville, the Saint-Pierre church can be considered from the 16th century but its Romanesque bases remain perceptible. This is the case of the baptismal font of the thirteenth century. Note also a singular statue of the apostle Saint Peter, represented sitting, as a pope, dated the sixteenth century. The fountain of Saint-Méen once famous for its supposed medicinal virtues and the manor of Foulerie (XVI) complete the circuit.
At the Mesnilbus, the Notre-Dame de l'Assomption church (remodeled in the 17th century on Romanesque bases of the 12th century), the pretty presbytery (18th century) and the Devil's Chair, a stone that gave birth to many legends, are then steps of interest.
In La Ronde-Haye, the Notre-Dame church, which dates back to the 12th century, is worth a visit because of the works it houses: a magnificent 15th-century Madonna and Child and a painting evoking All Saints' Day, dating from 17th, inspired by a Rubens painting. These elements are classified. On the same village, the war memorial laid out after the First World War does not lack singularity. It has the shape of a small cave on the ceiling of which were hung the beaches bearing the names of the young people of the village dead for France. A Pietà has been installed in the middle.
On Saint-Aubin-du-Perron, the church dates from the twelfth century: it was then the abbey of Blanchelande. Restored in the 1950s (pavement, vault, wall "south" of the nave) the building houses a magnificent ensemble consisting of a high altar and its altarpiece and several statues protected as historical monuments. The Château Perron, seat of a former medieval stronghold, rebuilt in the 19th century, still has a 16th century chapel, and the estate is bordered by a pond. On the old village, still, the castle of Virville was reworked in the nineteenth.
On Saint-Michel-de-la-Pierre, where no less than three fiefs were once divided land, three sites are to see. The parish church, first built in the eighteenth century, which we note that the rooster, on the bell tower, was pierced with bullets during the fighting of the Liberation in 1944, but also the well of Saint-Marcouf which formerly l The water was known to cure furunculosis and finally, at the locality of Morinière, which was a common grave where from 1944 to 1957 rested the remains of 56 German soldiers before their transfer to the cemetery of Marigny.
Finally, this long but informative circuit can end in Vaudrimesnil where the church of Saint-Manvieu of the eighteenth century has a beautiful square bell tower, while inside, there are the geminate columns of the altar.
On this village, the castle of the Barbey River of the seventeenth and nineteenth century was in the 1960s transformed into a shelter. As for the former orphanage implanted on the locality at the beginning of the XXth century, after having been transformed into retirement home, it shelters a recent important commercial complex for sport and leisure purposes. Information on +33 2 33 19 08 10.
Regarding leisure and activity "nature", the new town of Saint-Sauveur-Villages is very rich for fishing enthusiasts: we quote the course dedicated to trout fishing on Vaudrimesnil or the pond of Saint-Sauveur. Learn about the regulations on +33 2 33 45 03 12.
Landscapes of farmland, heritage elements, wooded plots and small but interesting craft units specializing in leather goods or soap factory for example, will finally mark beautiful hiking. Several marked trails are available, and for mountain bikers, specific circuits that can lead some to the coast have been thought. Maps and information on +33 2 33 19 08 10.
