The church, thus raised, is said by William of
Jumieges[37], to have surpassed every other in Neustria; but it is
certain that only a very small portion of the original building now
remains. A second destruction awaited it. Philip Augustus, who desolated
the county of Evreux with fire and sword, stormed the capital, sparing
neither age nor sex; and all its buildings, whether sacred or profane,
were burnt to the ground. Hoveden, his friend, and Brito, his
enemy, both bear witness to this fact--the latter in the following
lines:--
"... irarum stimulis agitatus, ad omne
Excidium partis adversae totus inardens,
Ebroicas primo sic incineravit, ut omnes
Cum domibus simul ecclesias consumpserit ignis."--
The church, in its present state, is a medley of many different styles
and ages: the nave alone retains vestiges of early architecture, in its
massy piers and semi-circular arches: these are evidently of Norman
workmanship, and are probably part of the church erected by Henry.--All
the rest is comparatively modern.--The western front is of a debased
Palladian style, singularly ill adapted to a Gothic cathedral. It is
flanked with two towers, one of which ends in a cupola, the other in a
short cone.--The central tower, which is comparatively plain and
surmounted by a high spire, was built about the middle of the fifteenth
century, during the bishopric of the celebrated John de Balue, who was
in high favor with Louis XIth, and obtained from that monarch great
assistance towards repairing, enlarging, and beautifying his church.
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