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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The former church of Journet, located in the Vienne department in New Aquitaine, dates from the 12th century. This monument is distinguished by its Romanesque portal in the middle of the wall, whose lower vesture is celebrated and framed by two columns with capitals carved of human heads. Above, a window in the middle of the wall, surmounted by a broken discharge arch, bears witness to the architectural techniques of the time. Inside, the nave, divided into three spans with a flat to triple bedside, partially retains its original vault. The dogive and double crosses fall on five-paned pilasters, decorated with foliage capitals, characteristic of poitevin Romanesque art.

The history of the building is marked by destructive events and transformations. Vaulted in the 12th century, the church was ravaged by a fire in the 16th century, then repaired summarily in the 19th century to serve as a parish church. Disused around 1875, it was converted into a workshop, with the addition of a floor dividing space into two floors. Only the portal is classified as Monument Historique by decree of 13 March 1935, while the rest of the building, owned by an association, retains the traces of its successive metamorphoses. The accuracy of its location is considered mediocre (level 5/10), and its approximate address is 2 Rue de la Nougerie in Journet.

The interior architectural elements reveal a well preserved Romanesque structure in its first span, where the original vault remains. Foliage capitals and pentagonal pilasters illustrate the influence of the Poitou regional workshops. Despite the damage suffered, the building offers a rare testimony of 12th century rural churches, combining simplicity of volumes and sculptural richness. Its religious disuse in the 19th century reflects the social and cultural upheavals of the period, while its reassignment to a workshop highlights its adaptation to local needs. Today, its state and its management by an association question its preservation and its heritage development.

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