Dedicated to Saint Mammès, the church at Rivière-les-Fosses has undergone many changes, making it difficult to date. As the building is built on a slope, you enter the nave on the same level as the nave, which is extended by a choir raised above the ground, thanks to a circular, barrel-vaulted walkway under the choir, originally intended to bring the 11th-century sanctuary up to the same level as the nave (instead of a crypt, which was no doubt deemed too costly, as for example in Villars-Saint-Marcellin). The 2 eastern bays appear to be the oldest (late 11th century under the old bell tower, and early 12th century to the east). The choir, which consisted of 2 bays after the 12th century, was extended at the beginning of the 20th century by an overhanging building communicating with the choir, which houses the sacristy and the parish rooms.|The nave, enlarged in the 13th century, retains its 2 side chapels from the same period. It was considerably enlarged by two side aisles at a later date (18th-19th century?).|The entrance is preceded by a carpentry porch that supports a bell tower built "temporarily" in 1881 from oak frames, which is what makes this redesigned building so original. This replaces the old bell tower at the crossing of the transept, which was dismantled in 1881 by the church administration because its weight threatened the stability of the church on the slope. It was never rebuilt so as not to destabilise the building again, and its vault, which was taken down on occasion, was replaced by a floor. The central nave, with its aisles, is covered by a single long-sloped roof, covering the whole of the nave and choir, which tends to give a certain unity to the whole.
Eglise Saint-Mammès de Rivière-les-Fosses
