Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The chapel of the Pourçain Tower is originally a strong house built in the 14th century, probably on the bases of a 13th century building. Originally called Tour des Pousins, it depended on the Château de la Motte-Bar, property of the Sires de Bar, and monitored the medieval road from Autun to Clermont, heiress of a Roman way. Its strategic location, on a motte perhaps surrounded by water, made it a checkpoint between two confluent streams to the Gouttes Bar. The three-storey building with sandstone fireplaces was topped by a crenelated terrace, partially razed later.

Turned into a chapel in 1926 after the collapse of its roof in 1920, the Tour Pourçain preserves traces of its defensive past: vaulted ground floor with bread oven, stone staircase, and enlarged openings in the 15th and 16th centuries. His inscription in the Historic Monuments in 1937 highlighted his heritage interest. Since 1992, it has been part of an association and reflects the adaptation of medieval fortifications to places of worship.

Architecturally, the chapel combines military elements (scenes, dominant position) and domestic elements (routed, cross-lined). Its history reflects the changes in the Bourbon landscape, where strong houses, like this one, served both as seigneurial relays and as protection for travellers. The conversion into a chapel in the 20th century illustrates a regional tendency to reallocate medieval heritage to religious or community uses.

External links