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Origin and history

The Saint-Mesmin chapel of Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine is one of the remains of a priory founded in 1060 by Hugues de Sainte-Maure, local lord. This monastery, originally attached to the abbey of Saint-Mesmin in Micy (Orléans), became one of its eleven priories between the 11th and 13th centuries. The chapel, Romanesque style, was then used as a prioral church before acquiring parish status in the 13th century. Its architecture, now partially destroyed, retained elements such as the intertransept and the northern crusillon, flanked by an absidiole.

In the 16th century, the priory suffered partial reductions, especially during the construction of the fortified enclosure of Sainte-Maure in 1542. The income from the abbey of Micy then amounted to £600. The chapel, which had become parish, ceased to receive Masses in 1761 because of its disrepair. Sold as a national property during the Revolution, it was entered in the additional inventory of historical monuments on 22 May 1948.

From the original building, only the cross of the transept and the north crusillon remain, vaulted in cul-de-four and supported by foothills. A unique bay, adorned with an archvolt with point-of-diamant, illuminates the space. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the absidiole was replaced by a barlong absidiole. An external staircase, added in the 18th or 19th century, allows access to the upper floors, replacing an old bay window.

The foundation of the priory in 1060 is attested by a charter in Latin, attesting the donation of the Hugues de Sainte-Maure to the abbey of Micy. This document stipulated the building of a church and the preservation of monastic privileges. Until the 16th century, the priory remained under the authority of Micy, before gradually declining, marked by architectural transformations and the loss of its religious function.

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