Initial construction XIIe siècle (≈ 1250)
First edification of the church, annex of Espanel.
XVIIe siècle
Major renovation
Major renovation XVIIe siècle (≈ 1750)
Architectural redesign with Renaissance additions.
5 avril 1979
Historical Monument
Historical Monument 5 avril 1979 (≈ 1979)
Official registration by ministerial decree.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Church of Saint-Nazaire (former) (Box C 79): inscription by order of 5 April 1979
Key figures
Famille Du Breuilh - Former local seigneurie
ECUson above the door.
Origin and history
The church of Saint-Nazaire de Molières, built in the 12th century, was profoundly redesigned in the 17th century. Originally an annex of the parish of St. Lawrence of Senezles, it was formerly dependent on Espanel, as evidenced by the shield of the family Du Breuilh engraved above the entrance door. Its architecture combines late Gothic elements and Renaissance influences, visible in the mouldings of the pieddroits and carved decorations.
The building adopts a rectangular flat bedside plan, covered with a panel. Its bell tower, a two-storey square structure separated by a bandeau, is pierced by bays in basket handle and surmounted by a four-paned roof. A semi-cylindrical turret, with a screw staircase, flanks the tower. The door in the middle of the hangar, protected by an appentis porch, has a Renaissance frame with Gothic reminiscences, underlined by a flower crowning the pilasters.
Classified as a Historical Monument since 5 April 1979, the church now belongs to the municipality of Molières. Its state of conservation and its location (precision: 6/10) give a modest but representative testimony of the Occitan rural religious heritage, marked by successive redevelopments between the Middle Ages and the modern era.
