The church of Saint-Rémi de Fontaine-au-Bois, a remarkable 18th-century building, was built in 1749 on the site of an old church mentioned in the 11th century and dependent on Saint-André du Cateau Abbey. One of the few fortified churches of the Land of Mormal with that of Féron, it is distinguished by its defensive architecture.
Its square bell tower, made of sandstone and bricks, without windows originally and pierced by murderers, served as a refuge during conflicts. The church was surrounded by a fortified cemetery with circular towers with pepper-coated, forming an essential protective ensemble for this village exposed to the repeated seats of Landrecies.
Before the present building, a church with a single nave, visible in the XVIIth century Albums of Cro, already occupied the place with its own bell tower-donjon. The reconstruction of 1749 retained this defensive vocation, exceptional in the North. The choir was embellished in 1752 thanks to a gift, and the side doors dated 1749, still visible, were probably walled in 1807 when the north access opened. In the 20th century, the soil was redone and the last turrets removed. The church was also destroyed in 1918, bombed and burned, but remains a valuable witness to local history.
The church of Saint-Rémi de Fontaine-au-Bois is part of the diocese of Cambrai and is part of the parish of Saint Roch in Mormal. Today it hosts occasional Masses according to a shared calendar. Restoration work is under way on the tower: consolidation of the masonry, restoration of brick and sandstone trimmings, security of the structure and restoration of defensive elements such as the murderers and the dungeon.
