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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Alban de Lormes, built between 1865 and 1867, replaces a medieval building of the 10th century, rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. The old church, painted by Corot, was demolished in 1865 to give way to this neo-Roman monument designed by architects Paillard and Lutz. It adopts a plan in Latin cross with three naves, a transept of 27.43 m and a bell tower of 40 m, housing three bells of which the heaviest weighs 2 tons.

The interior is distinguished by its 12 columns with carved capitals representing biblical scenes or foliage, works by sculptor Jean Guillaumet. The stained glass windows, signed Lucien-Leopold Lobin, adorn the lower side and the absidial chapels, while 60 high windows bathe the light building. Four wrought iron chandeliers provide heating and lighting, complementing rich furniture: 17th-century stalls, paintings copies of Van Dyck and Prud.

The present church was built thanks to the initiative of the parish priest Jean Bion, a native of Auvergne, who launched the project in 1841. It was listed as historical monuments on August 8, 1997. The previous medieval building, transformed into a temple of Reason during the Revolution, housed a brotherhood of the Body of God and an annual procession on Easter Tuesdays, restored in 1670 after a suspension by Bishop Gabriel de Roquette. A bell of 1658, recast in 1737, weighed 2.2 tons, with the count of Château-Chinon as godfather.

Around the church, a monumental granite cross (19th century) marks the location of the ancient church painted by Corot, while a monument pays homage to widows and orphans of war. The court houses a 19th century cast iron cannon. The size stones came from the Manse quarry, and the entrepreneurs were Jacques Rougemont and the Desjobert brothers. The architects from Nevers inspired the neo-Roman style of this ambitious project.

The missing furniture includes a 19th century wooden pulpit, whose panels were reused for the high altar, as well as stolen gold bronze reliquaries and crosses. The current organ is electronic, replacing a historical instrument. The parish registers, kept since 1620 by the parish priest Pierre Boillot, bear witness to local religious life, marked by conflicts such as the suspension of the Easter procession or the madness of the parish priest Claude Boillot, who was interned in 1670.

The church also symbolizes tensions between episcopal power and community: in 1125, Louis VI the Big asked the bishop of Autun to give up the patronage of Lormes to the priory of La Charité-sur-Loire in vain. In 1296 Bishop Hugues d'Arcy gave up an annuity on the church in the chapter of Autun. In the 17th century, the inhabitants begged Bishop Gabriel de Roquette to unite the incomes of Saint Peter and Notre-Dame oratories with those of Saint Alban to finance a second priest, without success.

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