Mathons church dates back to the middle of the 12th century, its portal to the 15th century, and the other alterations were carried out in the 16th century. Its nave has a ceiling and precedes a two-bay choir covered with ogives.
Remains:
Only the north wall of the church, the passage for the dead and the west facade of the chapter house survived the fire on 12 August 1944 set by German troops in retaliation against the farm workers, who were supposed to have helped the maquisards. The complex has survived, however, thanks to the curious shape of the quarter-circle vaulting in the passageway for the dead and the arches in the windows on the cloister side of the chapter house. It should be noted that the quarter-circle vaulting of the passageway for the dead is quite exceptional in Grandmont architecture. This arrangement seems to act as a buttress for the north wall of the church. This passageway is 2.20 m wide. The chapter house was vaulted, as evidenced by the tears in the interior walls. It opened on the cloister side through a door flanked by two twin bays, each separated by two short columns. This room was occupied until August 1944. A wooden staircase once existed inside, against the cemetery passageway, to access the first floor. Unfortunately, the rest of the Mathons building has not survived; all that remains are the base of the walls of the east and south buildings, and the south wall of the church, about 1 m high...
A step back in time to the present day:
At the end of July 1944, the Maquis set up camp in the Mathons forest, at the chalet des Gaudes, under the command of Georges Debert. The group was made up of around thirty men plus seven Canadian airmen who had crewed a bomber shot down by the Germans. It had two requisitioned tractors, recovery weapons and two aircraft machine guns. The supply base was the Bonshommes farm run by the Douillot family. At around 4am on 10 August, the Germans, numbering between 1,200 and 1,500 men, attacked the maquis. The maquis split into two groups. The first, led by Georges Debert, managed to escape southwards. The second group, led by Gabriel Sanrey, a forest ranger, came under heavy fire on the northern edge of the wood and withdrew. It split into two groups. The first group, comprising Gabriel Sanrey (23), Maurice Launois (26), René Jakubas (18) and Serge Dervaire (17) and the seven Canadians, pretended to be lumberjacks to the Germans, with Gabriel Sanrey dressed as a forest ranger. The Germans seemed to accept them, then martyred and murdered them, while the Canadians were taken prisoner. The second group, comprising eleven men, providentially escaped the Germans' search by remaining well camouflaged under foliage around a large oak tree. As for the Drouillot couple, they were questioned and threatened, and their farm-priory was looted and burnt down before their very eyes. They were imprisoned for eight days in Chaumont. The following day, 11 August, the Germans returned to Les Bonshommes, where they shot at everyone present. The Douillot couple's 11-year-old son, Bernard, was killed by a hail of bullets as he fled. His parents did not know of his death until he was released from prison.
EGLISE NOTRE-DAME-DE-L'ASSOMPTION DE MATHONS
