It is the only monument in Ile-de-France selected for this fifth edition of the Loto du Patrimoine.
The Saint-Louis church in Villemomble (Seine-Saint-Denis) is one of the 18 “emblematic” sites selected on March 15 by La Mission Patrimoine, led by Stéphane Bern, deployed by the Heritage Foundation and supported by the Ministry of Culture and the FDJ. Its renovation will be partly financed by the proceeds of the Loto du Patrimoine.
Grindstone and concrete
Built between 1901 and 1956 according to the plan of Roman churches, the parish was created by the architect Georges Dumont in modern materials of the 20th century such as cast iron and iron, hidden on the outside under a coat of millstone.
“This millstone is emblematic of Villemomble, since several of our streets are entirely made up of houses made of this material, which we classified in 2017 as “remarkable houses” in our Local Urbanism Plan (PLU)”, explains Jean-Michel Bluteau, mayor (DVD), of Villemomble.
It was he who brought the project to the Mission Patrimoine, the building belonging to the town hall since it dates from before the law of separation of the Church and the State of 1905.
But the main particularity of this work remains its bell tower, which rises to 54 meters in height. It was made by the sculptor Carlo Sarrabezolles who for the first time used his technique known as “sculpture by direct carving of concrete in engagement”. Concretely, the artist worked directly on stripped cement, without a mould, requiring great speed to make the 28 religious figures of this bell tower take shape before the concrete dries.
1.7 million euros of works
It is precisely this bell tower that requires funding from the Loto du Patrimoine. Indeed, its concretes are very degraded and burst. The municipality even had to install a protective net and retaining straps around the campanile. The restoration work is now estimated at 1.7 million euros, but the mayor fears that this figure will swell.
“We have little perspective on the construction techniques and materials used. However, the renovation is urgent and structural: there are also disorders to be settled in the nave. I think that this amount will only allow the first phase of the work. he says.
The steeple, very degraded, requires funding from the Loto du Patrimoine.Heritage Foundation – MyPhotoAgency- Anthony Berger
Fortunately, in addition to the funding granted via the Loto du Patrimoine, the amount of which will be revealed during the Heritage Days in September, the Regional Department of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) has also announced its financial support of up to 40% of the cost of the work. Jean-Michel Bluteau hopes for other subsidies, in particular from the Ile-de-France Region.
The bell tower in the process of classification
The renovation should also allow the town hall to support its classification file for the bell tower in the national register of Historic Monuments. The whole of the Church of Saint-Louis is already “registered” in this register. But listing is less protective than ranking.
In addition to this first selection of 18 “emblematic” sites, 100 other sites (one per department) will be announced at the end of the summer by the Heritage Foundation, which will also support their renovation.
Since the first edition in 2018, Mission Patrimoine has helped 645 sites for their restoration work, including 90 emblematic regional heritage projects and 555 departmental sites. Today, more than half (363) have already been saved or are about to be saved: 156 have been completed and 207 projects are underway, according to the Foundation.
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