Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Martin de Beauvau, dedicated to Saint Martin de Vertou, finds its origins between the 9th and 10th centuries, when the early chapel was founded under the protection of Saint-Serge d'Angers Abbey. Around 1120, the monks obtained the right to make it a parish, attracting a growing population. The reconstruction of the building, initiated by Geoffroy de Jarzé and completed after 1137 by his son, gave rise to the present Romanesque nave, while the choir was transformed in the 13th–14th centuries to incorporate Gothic elements like sexpartite vaults.

The nave, preserved in its archaic state, is built in glazes of flint and illuminated by narrow Romanesque windows to the north, supplemented in the fourteenth century by ogival openings to the south. The choir, vaulted and surmounted by a bell tower, houses an crypt where Jarzé's Geoffroy and his son rest. The building, restored in 1958 by Abbé Bordeaux-Montrieux, was listed as a historical monument in 1968 for its retable and hybrid architecture, reflecting medieval stylistic evolutions.

The church also illustrates the links between local seigneury and religious power: ceded by the lord of Jarzé to the Abbey of Angers, it becomes a pole of settlement thanks to the rights granted to the monks. Subsequent modifications (Gothic openings, vaults) meet liturgical and aesthetic needs, while its modern preservation underscores its heritage importance in the Pays de la Loire.

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