In 1886 the new Bellencombre church was built in the moat of the castle just below the level of the lower bailey. The same year saw the destruction of the small Norman church which was situated within the lower bailey. Certain materials from this church were recuperated, but others remained scattered around the bailey, notably the travertine stone which one still finds a number of fragments of. These contributed to the construction of the ancient « grotte » in the upper bailey which today has disappeared.
The architect of the new church was Georges Simon, who in 1886, was responsible for the church in the village of Muids on the banks of « La Seine ». The ressemblance of the west facades and of the naves of Bellencombre and Muids churches is striking, even if the materials are different.
Source : Gaudefroy Lionel. Bellencombre – Muids. Two nearly twins chruches. Le Bellencombrais illustré, n°12, juin 2019 et Le Pucheux, n°114, Saint-Maurice 2019, pp.10-12.
circa 1830. Drawing of M. A. Lower