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Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Colombe de Lasfargues, located in Laughnac (Lot-et-Garonne), is a Romanesque religious building built in the late 12th or early 13th century. It was then serving the medieval village of Lasfargues, now extinct. From this period remains a vaulted apse in cul-de-four, typical of Romanesque architecture, as well as capitals adorned in the nave. The church was first mentioned in 1235 in a transaction with the chapter of the collegiate Saint-Caprais d'Agen, confirming its local importance from the Middle Ages.

The western facade, with a characteristic bell tower, dates from the 14th or 15th century, marking a first phase of transformation. The building suffered major damage during the Wars of Religion: in 1550 it was described in good condition by the Vicar Jean de Vallier, but in 1597 Bishop Nicolas de Villars saw only an apse covered, the nave being open. The repairs took place before 1682, as evidenced by the visit of Bishop Jules Mascaron, who noted a nave then covered but neither vaulted nor arched.

The church was disused in 1792 during the Revolution, and then sold by the commune in 1836, after the permanent disappearance of the village of Lasfargues – reduced to a simple place called two or three houses in the 19th century. The site, including the former parish cemetery with its fence wall and a 1780 cross, was listed as a historic monument on May 16, 1995. Today, transformed into an agricultural shed, the church preserves traces of its Romanesque past (abside, capitals) and its post-medieval changes, illustrating the religious and social upheavals of the region.

The adjoining cemetery, bounded by a wall, houses a stone cross with octagonal section probably dating from the 18th century. This cross, like the church, bears witness to the lost parish life. The historical sources, including the pastoral visits of the 16th-17th centuries, highlight the hazards of this building: initial prosperity, partial destruction, reparations, and then gradual abandonment linked to the desertification of the hamlet. The architectural descriptions also mention a north door-to-door porch in the middle of the hangar, and remanufactured drip walls with a less neat device than the original apse.

The archives reveal that the church was already considered "useless" at the beginning of the 19th century, due to the absence of parishioners. Its current isolation, on a hilltop overlooking Lasfargues Creek, contrasts with its past central role. Stylistic comparisons, such as the one with Saint John's church in Balerme for the broken arch portal, help date parts of the building. Despite its desecration, the site remains a marker of the rural and religious heritage of the former diocese of Agen.

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