4. Mayenne to Villaines-la-Juhel

According to Abbot Angot, the church was once attached to a monastery and its origins may date back to the 9th century. However, the present church does not predate the 11th century. During the Revolution, the church was closed in 1794 and then converted into a hay barn until 1800, when it reopened. From the Romanesque period, the church has kept its nave, the arms and the transept crossing. The church has an altarpiece from the early 17th century. It is made of wood and its paintings imitate marble to make it look like a Laval altarpiece.

The museum, opened in 1995. Some of the works exhibited here come from old excavations carried out on the site and from deposits from the Laval or Mayenne museums. The collections on display initially went beyond the framework of the Roman city, extending to archaeological discoveries from the rest of the department, from the earliest prehistoric period to the 16th century. Since then, it has been decided to devote it solely to the Roman period.
Jublains Museum

The first Christian building dates back to the 6th or 7th century on the site of Gallo-Roman baths whose walls were destroyed. Its dedication, dating from the Merovingian period, is identical to the cathedral of Le Mans.
The present building dates from the 19th century.

The church dates from the 12th or 13th century, its Romanesque architecture was reworked in the 15th and 17th centuries. The last stone of the choir was laid in 1684. The exterior peculiarity of the building lies in its bell tower-campanile reinforced with buttresses and an intermediate arch. This type of bell tower is exceptional in the region.
In this church with two altarpieces, one of which is remarkable from the 16th century (PP 53113_3), the light wood Renaissance stalls are simple:
On the back a plant decoration, oak leaves, garlands of leaves.
The seats whose four mercies are decorated with heads, one of which is a pig's head, the armrests are bird's heads and the separations all have small heads.
Source : petit patrimoine.com

The former St. George's Church was built during the Classical Middle Ages (12th century). Remnant of the former parish church, dedicated to St. George, it was demolished in February 1963 but its bell tower was preserved and restored the same year and it retains its function as a call to prayer with its three bells. The building has a fishbone layout characteristic of its time.

The name Villaines could come from the Latin "villa" which corresponds to an isolated agricultural estate. The locality is mentioned in a 7th century manuscript under the name "Vilhena".
Juhel was the name of a family of barons related to the Carolingians who lived in Mayenne and owned a fortress in Villaines, of which only the base of the 11th century keep remains. The Roman road Jublains-Lisieux passed close to the present town.
Neo-Gothic church from the 20th century which replaces the old church. The bell tower on the entrance porch seems to be quite short awaiting a later elevation.