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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Aignan d'Epeigné-les-Bois is a Catholic church located in the centre of the village, on the left bank of the creek of Chezelles. Its choir, built in the 12th century, overlooks an underground giving access to a source of healing virtues, potentially object of an earlier pagan cult. The building, almost perfectly oriented west-east, combines elements of the twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, with subsequent modifications.

The nave, in tuft, consists of two spans followed by an asymmetric transept, whose north arm has an absidiole. The choir, extended by a semicircular apse arched in cul-de-four, houses a crypt dedicated to Saint Aignan, where the source flows. The goutreal walls of the nave and the south transept were taken over in the 13th century, while restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries (roof, foothills, facade) marked its evolution.

The interior decor includes fake cameras painted on the vaults of the nave, vegetal motifs and a grimacing mask on a vault key (XIII-XIVth century). Two 15th century statues, representing the Virgin and Saint John, classified in 1913, adorn the northern absidiole. The church, inscribed in historical monuments since 1948, illustrates the Tourangelle religious architecture, mixing medieval heritage and later adaptations.

The underlying source, combined with healing virtues, could explain the implantation of the church at this location. The foothills added in the 19th century to stabilize the abside, then reshaped around 1960, testify to the structural challenges associated with its sloped location. Recent restorations (2016) have restored a tile cover, conforming to the original.

The building reflects local history, with additions such as the sacristy (1826-1836) or the destruction of a porch in the 19th century, of which no vestige remains. His plan, combining nave, transept and chorus, follows the canons of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, while subsequent modifications reveal a continuous occupation and an interview adapted to liturgical and community needs.

The crypt, dug in the rock, and the source flowing there underline the link between the sacred and popular beliefs, perhaps pre-Christian. This site, both a place of worship and a potential pilgrimage, embodies the superposition of the historical and spiritual layers characteristic of rural religious buildings in Touraine.

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