009. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The church, in ruins, stands on a hill. The church was under St Martin's patronage, and the second saint was St. Eutropius. The parish belonged to the deanery of St-Pair and the archidiachoné of Coutances. Foulques Paynel, probably a relative of Guillaume Paynel, founder of the Abbey of Hambye in 1145, gave to the abbey part of the tithe of the parish of Saint-Martin-le-Vieux, a donation mentioned in the cartulary of the Abbey of Hambye. During the French Revolution, the church was used as an arsenal and all its furniture was sold. It became a church again in 1801 but, as it was threatening to collapse around 1804 or 1805, it was no longer used. Since that time, the parish of Saint-Martin-le-Vieux is part of the parish of Bréhal. Photo by Claude Rayon. [Claude-01] [Illustration] 010. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The Romanesque ruins, with a double belfry added in the 16th century. The ruins were overgrown by vegetation for a while. The masonry is made of irregular blocks in schist and granite. The arches and abutments of the openings are in granite. The schist is the local stone. The granit could come from the granite ground of Vire a few miles south. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-002] [Illustration] 011. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The Romanesque ruins. Between the choir and the nave, a double belfry (double because intended for two bells) was added in the 16th century, and built in pink granite from Chausey (an island not far from Granville). Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-003] [Illustration] 012. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The church plan. Regularly oriented from west to east, the rectangular building is formed by a long nave and a flat apse choir. The whole building has an external length of 26,5 meters and an external width of 6,4 meters (width of the front). The double belfry added in the 16th century rises between nave and choir. Plan by Marie Lebert. [Illustration] 013. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The south wall of the Romanesque nave. The large bay with a lowered centering was probably added in the 16th century, during the building of the double belfry. On the right of this large bay, the centering of the small Romanesque bay is carved in a granite block. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-004] [Illustration] 014. Saint-Martin-le-Vieux. The south wall of the Romanesque nave and its door, with its lowered centering and its abutments with chamfered edges. The small bay on the left is also Romanesque. The masonry of the walls is made of irregular blocks of schist and granite. Elements of opus spicatum (fishbone masonry) are visible, a proof the south wall is the oldest part of the church. Above the door, the little trefoil bay was probably added in the 16th century, during the building of the belfry. Photo by Alain Dermigny. [Alain-005] [Illustration]