Located at the centre of the town of Falaise, the construction of this church began shortly after the conquest of England in 1066. Believed to have been completed around 1122, the church’s dedications to Saint Gervais and Saint Protais took place in April 1124 in the presence of the Duke-King. Henri I Beauclerc. The church’s Romanesque architecture was supposedly inspired by the church of the Trinité of the Abbaye-aux-Dames in Caen. Many of the Romanesque stonework is gone, but one can still see interesting Romanesque vestiges in the historiated capitals with secular themes, on the first four south pillars in the nave.

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Another interesting facet of the church is that the façade’s slender columns support pinnacles with human heads. The middle story has deep, blind arcades whereas the sculpting on the upper story becomes gradually more subtle. The small columns below the pinnacles look superficial. Over the years the church has changed, and its very face shows the trained eye the various centuries of change that have affected not only the religion but the area in general. This building’s unusual design can be seen in only a few great buildings such as La Tenaille and Notre Dame de Châtres.

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