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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Martin de Grevilly, located in the department of Saône-et-Loire in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, is a Romanesque building dated from the first quarter of the 12th century. Located away from the village of Grevilly, on a mountain of the Haut-Mâconnais, it offers an open view of the valleys and the village of Brancion. Its typical plan of small local Romanesque churches includes a unique rectangular nave, a span supporting a square bell tower, and an apse in hemicycle. The building, anchored in the hillside, has been partially altered over the centuries, notably by the addition of a chapel-sacristy in the 19th century.

The church underwent several phases of restoration, notably in 1934 (demolition of the pillars of entry and laying of a new portal), 1978 (inside) and 1994 (outside). In 1941, it was listed as a Historic Monument, including its cemetery and dry stone fence wall. A notable feature is its lava cover (local lauzes), preserved on the abside, as well as its bell of 1858, named Sophie-Aymie, melted by Gideon Morel, a Lyon craftsman.

The interior furniture, sober, includes a polychrome wooden statue of the 16th century Virgin, placed on a tablet carved by a fabulous animal and an armored shield. Several funerary slabs, including that of Abbé Léonard Michalet (cured from 1697 to 1775), littered the ground. In 2020, the church integrated the tourist network "Chemins du roman en Mâconnais Sud Bourgogne", benefiting from a dedicated signage. Recent work (2021) aimed to reduce indoor humidity and preserve the bell tower.

The building now belongs to the parish of Notre-Dame-des-Coteaux-en-Mâconnais, based in Lugny, and remains an active Catholic place of worship. His bell tower, probably open in the 13th century, once housed a statue of the Virgin, replaced by a cross. The adjacent cemetery houses a stone cross of 1872, engraved with the epitaph "Requiem aeternam Dona eis Domine".

In 1806, after Grevilly's attachment to Cruzille for worship, the original church bell was transferred to St. Peter's Church in Cruzille, on prefectural order. This detail illustrates post-revolutionary parish reorganizations, which are frequent in rural areas. The restorations of the 20th century, supported by local associations and institutions such as DRAC, demonstrate a lasting attachment to this Romanesque heritage.

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