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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church of Saint-André de Bouau, located in Parleboscq in the Landes, is a religious building built mainly in the 14th and 16th centuries. It is distinguished by its brick architecture, rare for the region, and its seven-part tower bell tower added in the 16th century. The nave, composed of two spans extended by a three-sided apse, is vaulted with warheads with liernes and thirdons, characteristic of the flamboyant Gothic. The stone foothills, added to stabilize the vault, and the flamboyant western gate date back to the same work campaign.

In the 16th century, a major restoration transformed the building: the piercing of filling bays in the choir, the construction of the unfinished bell tower in 1546, and the addition of a southwest chapel, perhaps a funeral, adorned with a liter with the arms of the Gillet, Marquis de La Caze, local lords. A sacristy was added to the north, probably in the 18th century, and then supplemented by a wood-paned annex in the 19th century.

In 1881 Coralie Laudet, chestnut of Laballe, financed works including a false wooden vault for the first span, a rose on the facade, and glass windows signed L.-V. Gesta. The two wooden block pavilions surrounding the portal also date from this period. Classified as a Historical Monument in 1998, the church preserves medieval elements (the 14th century lancets) and modern additions, reflecting its architectural evolution over six centuries.

The building illustrates the adaptation of the rural Landes churches, mixing brick (main body), stone (buttress, sacristy) and wood pan (entrance plates). Its history reflects the seigneurial influences (Gillet family) and the restorations related to local piety, such as that of Coralie Laudet, benefactor of the churches of Parleboscq.

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