Sizun Parish close

The "enclos paroissial" or parish close comprises the Église Saint-Suliau, a sacristy, an ossuary or funeral chapel and a "porte triomphale" giving access to the enclosure.

[1] Access to the Sizun "enclos paroissial" is through an "Arc de Triomphe" like structure with a total length of 15 metres, built between 1585 and 1590.

A life size reproduction of the Sizun entrance was shown at the 1989 "Commémoration du Bicentenaire de la Révolution française" held in Paris' Jardins des Tuileries.

The structure has three arches separated by fluted columns with Corinthian capitals and is surmounted by a double stone balustrade from which emerge the three crosses of a Calvary.

The upper gallery of the "Arc de Triomphe" was accessed by a stone stairway so priests would have been able to preach from there in the open air but this was removed several years ago to assist the flow of traffic.

The lower level of the building is built with yellow granite honeycomb stone and has arched windows separated by pilasters, some with caryatids depicting women who are naked apart from the scrolls they hold.

The church boasts five altarpieces, a Thomas Dallam organ dating to 1683 and some exquisite furnishings and there is a showcase in the north transept containing many artifacts including the solid silver bust of Saint Suliau shown in the gallery of images at the end of the article.

The altarpiece known as the "Agonisants" in the north transept depicts the death of a believer in the presence of Dom Michel le Nobletz, the Breton missionary.