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Heritage classified

Origin and history

The Sainte-Barbe chapel of Valainville, located in Moléans (Eure-et-Loir), is a religious building built during the second half of the seventeenth century. It is located precisely at the intersection of the roads of the Chapel and of Angel Pitou, on plot 134 of the commune. This monument, inscribed in the Historical Monuments by decree of 24 December 2024, illustrates the rural religious architecture of this period, marked by relative agricultural prosperity and a revival of pious constructions after the disturbances of the Wars of Religion.

The location of the chapel, reported with medium accuracy (level 5/10), reflects its anchoring in the local landscape. In modern times, chapels of this type often served as a secondary place of worship for hamlets far from parishes, while playing a social and spiritual role for peasant communities. Their construction was usually initiated by local lords, brotherhoods or gifts from the faithful, although the available archives do not specify the sponsors of this monument.

The recent inscription (2024) of the chapel in its entirety underlines its heritage value, although the current sources (Monumentum, Merimée base) do not provide details of its contemporary use, such as a possible opening to the public or a conversion into a cultural space. Its official address, 2 Rue de la Chapelle, and its Insee code (28256) clearly links it to the territory of Moléans, in the arrondissement of Chartres.

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