8. Sées to Exmés

The history of the Basilica is inseparable from that of the minor seminary of Sées.
The latter, founded in 1819 to welcome the children and adolescents of the diocese wishing to discern the reality of a call to the priestly ministry, while ensuring their secondary education, was from the beginning dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
The large number of personnel gradually posed the problem of the cramped premises and the lack of a place of worship proper to the institution.
The first stone of the Chapel was laid on 26 March 1855 and the chapel opened for worship on 1 January 1859. However, it was not officially consecrated until 1872 by Monsignor Rousselet. In 1902, it was erected as a minor basilica.
In 1854, when Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Mgr Rousselet, then Bishop of Séez, expressed the wish that a church be built. The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception of Sées and the first building bearing this name in France.

It is the oldest of the French national stud farms. Since the end of the Middle Ages, there are stud farms at Sainte-Barbe and Exmes. In 1665, under Louis XIV, Colbert created the administration of the Royal Studs in order to alleviate the shortage of horses facing the kingdom while improving the French horse breeds. As soon as the administration was created, royal stallions were selected and distributed in the regions and they were the only ones who could reproduce.
The current buildings (stables and castle) were built during the reign of Louis XV, between 1715 and 1730, and were nicknamed the "Versailles of the horse" by the writer Jean de La Varende.
More information Wikipedia

The church consists of two parts in different styles. The large nave of Romanesque architecture dates back to the 11th century, perhaps to the 10th. The church, built in 1060, was burnt down by the English during the Hundred Years' War. The original Romanesque door is replaced by another door in 12th and 13th century style, with an archivolt surrounded by a moulded cordon. The choir is rebuilt in the 15th century, but the Wars of Religion stop the work.