The church was originally built as the abbey church of Saint Ouen for the Benedictine Order, beginning in 1318 and interrupted by the Hundred Years' War, and completed in the 15th century in the rayonnant style.
The foundation of St-Ouen Abbey has been variously credited, among others, to Clothair I and to St. Clothilda, but evidence is scanty. It was dedicated at first to St. Peter when the body of St. Ouen, Archbishop of Rouen (d. 678), was buried there; the name of St. Peter and St. Ouen became common and finally St. Ouen only. The history of the abbey, on record from the 1000, is unremarkable; a list of abbots is in Gallia Christiana XI, 140. In 1660 the monastery was united to the Congregation of St. Maur, and when suppressed, in 1794, the community numbered twenty-four. The abbey building itself was vacated by the time of the French Revolution and was subsequently occupied by the Town Hall of Rouen.1
Architecture
The church measures 137m long under 33m high vaults. The central crossing is surmounted by an unusual lantern-style tower similar to that at Ely Cathedral in England. The well-preserved stained glass is predominantly from the 14th century, featuring jewel tones among panels of clear and frosted white glass, and leading to a brighter interior than is usual with Gothic churches. The hitherto unfinished façade was completed between 1846 and 1851.
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