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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame-de-Valfrancesque, now Protestant temple of the Boissonnade, is a 12th century Romanesque building located in the Cevennes. Built in fraidronite, a dark local rock, it is distinguished by its unique nave arched in a cradle, its semicircular apse and its southern gate decorated with carved capitals. The bell tower, later added, dates from its transformation into a Protestant temple. The ensemble, with the exception of this bell tower, is remarkably preserved and reflects the Romanesque cevenola architecture.

The history of the church dates back to a mention in 935, when Pope John VI attributed it to the bishop of Nîmes, although his consecration occurred only in 1063. A local legend links its foundation to a victory by the Franks over the Saracens in the eighth century, but the current building dates back to the twelfth century. After having been a place of Catholic worship, it became a Protestant temple in the sixteenth century, suffering fire and looting during the Wars of Religion, especially in 1702 by the Camisards.

After the Revolution, the church was sold as a national property and used as an agricultural building. Repurchased in 1832 by the Protestant community, it becomes a temple again, a role it retains today. Ranked a historic monument in 1929, it illustrates the religious upheavals of the region, marked by the Reformation, the revocation of the edict of Nantes and tensions between Catholics and Protestants.

The name Valfrancesque could evoke a French valley (Vallis Franscisca), with reference to a French enclave in the middle of the Visigoth lands, or to the legend of the Battle of the Boissonnade. During the Revolution, religious toponyms were abolished, but Valfrancesque persisted for the church, while the commune became Vallée-Française.

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