Chapelle Sainte-Marie du Fâ en Charente-Maritime

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Origin and history

The chapel of Sainte-Marie du Fâ is the only vestige of the castle of the Fâ, a former noble house belonging to the family of Asnières, the younger branch of the Sires de Pons. This castle, located north of the town of Pons in Charente-Maritime, was largely dismantled in 1829 by the Marquis de la Châtaigneraie. He wanted to modernize the house by removing degraded elements such as windows and pediments, thus erasing much of his architectural heritage.

The chapel, once oratory of the castle, survived these transformations. Although reworked several times, it retains notable medieval elements, including a central column adorned with an historic capital representing scenes from the Old Testament, such as Abraham's sacrifice. Its arches with four-partite cross-sections, characteristic of the 15th century, bear witness to its Gothic origin. The building has been included in the additional inventory of historic monuments since 22 August 1949.

Today integrated into a modern building, the Sainte-Marie-du-Fâ chapel offers a striking contrast between its medieval heritage and its contemporary environment. It recalls the historical importance of the Asnières family in the region, as well as the architectural transformations suffered by noble houses in the 19th century, often to the detriment of their original integrity.

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