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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Notre-Dame de L'Hôpital-sous-Rochefort, located in the Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, is a 12th-century religious building. Originally, it belonged to a priory dependent on the Benedictine abbey of the Chaise-Dieu, as evidenced by an agreement signed in 1116 with the archbishop of Lyon. Today, the Romanesque period remains only the square of the cross of the transept, the rest having been redesigned in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The nave and bell tower were rebuilt in the 15th century, simultaneously at the edge of the village, under the impulse of prior Guillaume de la Merlée, who also had the vault of the nave rebuilt. The choir preserves wall paintings stratified between the 15th and 16th centuries, commissioned by successive priors. Among them are the symbols of the evangelists (Tetramorph) painted around 1485 by Guillaume Mastin de la Merlée, and a representation of the Last Judgment attributed to his successor, Claude Raybe de Saint-Marcel d'Urfé (prieur from 1485 to 1509). In the 18th century, Marian scenes in blue camaïeu were added.

The building, classified as a Historic Monument in 1938, is home to remarkable furniture, including a Renaissance wooden Virgin with Child (1.58 m), probably donated by Claude Raybe of Wales, Prior and Councillor of the Dukes of Bourbon. This statue, classified in 1892, is attributed to a workshop close to the Maître de Beaujeu or to Lyon artisans such as Jean de Chartres. The priory, now partially destroyed, was organized around a fortified courtyard integrated with the walls of the village, with buildings rebuilt by Guillaume de la Merlée.

The glass windows of the apse, made in 1854 by painters-glasses Jean-Baptiste Barrelon and Josephus Veyrat, complete this artistic ensemble. The church underwent several restoration campaigns, including in the 19th century (reopening of bays, rebuilding of the sacristy) and in the 20th century (roofs, bell tower arrow). The 2002 excavations revealed the stratification of the murals, confirming their evolution between the 15th and 16th centuries.

Architecturally, the church mixes granite bellows, cut stone and ancient uses. Its bell tower-wall with four arches, raised during the fortification of the village around 1440, dominates a vaulted nave of warheads and a choir with hemi-circular apse. The apsidioles, vaulted in cul-de-four, communicate with the choir by side chapels. The dome on trunks of the cross and the vaults in broken cradle of the crucifixes date from the Romanesque period.

The priory, sold as a national good during the Revolution, was burned in 1960. Its remains, now shared between private owners and the commune, recall its central role in the religious and social life of the village. Guillaume de la Merlée's large armored chimneys and the traces of fortification testify to its strategic importance in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Collection

L'église abrite une statue en bois polychrome représentant la Vierge et l'Enfant. Cette sculpture semble dater du tout début du XVIème siècle. Elle est classée M.H en 1892. Elle mesure 1,56 m.

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