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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Just, located in Hautefage-la-Tour (Lot-et-Garonne), is a Catholic building dating back to the 12th century. It is mentioned in the Cartular of Agen, and only the Romanesque apse and the span of the choir of this period remain today. The nave, probably rebuilt in the Gothic era, extended into the continuation of the choir, while a third-point groined bay, located above the south gate, once lit up a missing upper room.

In the 16th century, a second ship was added to the north of the nave, and the two naves were then covered with arches of warheads resting on a cruciform central pillar, which had now disappeared but described by Georges Tholin. During religious wars, the bell tower is transformed into a defensive tower. Work was carried out in the 17th and 18th centuries, including restoration of the porch after 1668 and repairs documented in 1740. The bell tower was enhanced in 1883 to install the bell chamber.

The vaults of the two ships collapsed in 1971, and a restoration project was studied in 2012 by architect Stéphane Thouin. The church, inscribed in historical monuments in 1996, preserves traces of its medieval past, such as the presbytery adjacent to the north ship and the remains of an episcopal house, already ruined in 1668. The building combines cut stone, tuff and limestone, with a hollow tile cover.

The Church of Saint-Just is an architectural testimony of the stylistic and historical evolutions of the region, marked by religious conflicts and successive adaptations. Its Romanesque apse, its semi-circular bedside surmounted by a bell tower, and its spiral staircase illustrate this rich heritage. The feasted prismatic dorets, the only remains of the destroyed vaults, recall the importance of this building in local history.

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