Saint-Denis Church of Ponteyraud à Ponteyraud en Dordogne

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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church Saint-Denis de Ponteyraud, located at La Jemaye-Ponteyraud in New Aquitaine, is a building whose oldest parts, such as the gouts of the nave, date back to the 12th century. The choir and bedside, reconstructed in the 13th century, present notable Gothic elements: a broken double bow, a triplet of lancets surmounted by a quadrilobed rose, and traces of an ancient cradle vault. The ensemble, reworked at later times, also preserves a single span nave covered with panelling, as well as a modest campanile overlooking the arch separating the spans.

The church was initially attached to a Benedictine priory for women, dependent on the abbey of Ligueux. This priory welcomed nuns until the end of the 18th century, before its convent buildings were destroyed during the Revolution. The current building, classified as a Historic Monument in 1926, bears witness to this monastic history through architectural details such as the archatures on the foothills of the north facade or the corbeled cornice of the south wall. More recent additions, such as a pan-wood bell tower, illustrate the successive adaptations of the building.

The primitive vault in broken cradle was replaced by a roofing panel, while the flat bedside, pierced with lancettes, and the quadrilobed rose recall the Gothic influences of the thirteenth century. The nave, divided into three unequal spans, and the vaulted choir in cradle reflect a sober but characteristic structure of the rural churches of the region. The absence of the convent buildings, disappeared after 1789, underlines the transformation of the site, today communal property and partially open to the visit.

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