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Origin and history

The Saint-Paxent church of Massay was originally the abbey of Saint-Martin Abbey, founded in 738 by the Count of Aquitaine Egon. Reformed by Benoît d'Aniane in 814, it was affiliated with Cluny in the 10th century. After destruction by the Normans (873) and a fire in 999, the Abbey was rebuilt in the 12th century, with a Romanesque chapel influencing the nascent Gothic. Saint Louis passed there in 1258.

During the Hundred Years' War (14th century), Massay was destroyed and rebuilt on Romanesque foundations, reducing his grip on the choir and transept. In 1483, Abbé Bertrand de Chamborand erected a 42-metre Gothic bell tower with seven bells, one of which was dated 1512. The abbey, looted during the Wars of Religion (1562, 1567), declined under the regime of commende.

Closed in 1735 by the Archbishop of Bourges, the abbey was dismantled in 1736. The church of Saint Martin then became parish under the name of Saint-Paxent, replacing the old church in ruins. The Revolution destroyed some of the buildings, including the cloister, to trace a road. Today, the capitular hall (XIIIe), the chapel Saint-Loup (romanus with warheads, XIIe), and the bell tower-porch, classified as a Historical Monument remain.

The present building, with a single nave and pentagonal bedside, preserves elements from the 12th–12th centuries: panelled frame, Rhene stained glass windows (XVIe) and Parisian windows (1880–1885), mutilated stalls (XVIe), and a polychrome wooden Virgin (XVIIe–XVIIIe). The bell tower, decorated with the arms of the Abbé de Chamborand, illustrates the transition between flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance. The remaining buildings (chambering houses, cellars) bear witness to medieval monastic life.

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