Historian and archaeologist, Louis Régnier has tirelessly surveyed the territory of the Vexin (and all of Normandy) to document the remarkable buildings of the region.
We owe him a work which is still a reference on the church of Vétheuil.
But the story of his life is less known:
Born in Gisors in 1865 into a family of notaries, he was to ensure the family's continuity, but his passion for archaeology diverted him from this path as soon as he became a notary clerk. At 17, he was already a member of the archaeological society. At 21 years old, he published his first book: " the Renaissance in the Vexin and a part of the Parisis". This explains the passion he had for the church of Vétheuil, a monument of great importance for the history of the Renaissance.
The departments of Eure, Oise and Seine et Oise were his favorite fields of research and study. He surveyed the region all year round, even climbing into church towers to read the inscriptions on the bells (a complex exercise because he was very short-sighted!). He accumulated documentation on the monuments and constantly published new studies (he had to his credit more than 500 publications at the end of his life). His reputation and his erudition were immense.
Solicited by many institutions, he was covered with honors.
He died tragically in the Vernon station. Coming from Gisors, he was going to look for his connection to Mantes by crossing the tracks and he did not see the Paris-Rouen express train which was passing at high speed.
He died before he was sixty and left two unfinished works: " Statistiques monumentales de l'Eure " and " Monographie de l'église de Gisors".
Among the many publications: the Carmelites of Gisors, the cathedral of Evreux, Saint-Germer, the abbey of Jumièges, the church of Notre-Dame de Pontoise, the church of Auvers-sur-Oise...
