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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Saint-Pancrace church of Ray-sur-Saône, built in the 13th century, presents a Latin cross plan and a flat bedside influenced by Cistercian architecture. The choir, with its vaulted bays of warheads and its broken cradle, dates from this period, while the lateral chapels (seigneurial to the north, canons to the south) were added after 1341, when Guy de Ray founded a chapter of six canons. These chapels, covered with vaults on cross of warheads, still house the cellars of the Ray and Marmier families, as well as that of the canons.

In the 16th century, the nave was rebuilt as evidenced by the engraved dates (1550 on a doubleau, 1562 on a niche, 1585 on a bentier). His three spans, vaulted with warheads and separated by broken doubles, probably replaced an older structure. The bell tower, threatening to ruin in the 18th century, was entirely rebuilt in 1768 by architect Pierre Girard and entrepreneur Michel Morton. Its cover in polychrome tiles ("black, yellow, green and red") arranged "in strand of heather" is a remarkable feature, as is its imperial roof.

The church's furniture, particularly rich, includes a Tombing and an 18th-century altar-table decorated with the coat of arms of the Marmier family, identical to that of the local castle. The cemetery cross located south of the bell tower, dating from the early seventeenth century, completes this heritage complex. Ranked a historical monument in 2014 with its cross, the church underwent restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the repair of the roof in 1861, the addition of a stained glass window in 1868, and the development of the surroundings in 1994.

The building thus illustrates almost five centuries of architectural and religious history, from its medieval origins to its modern transformations. His late inscription (2014) underlines the value of this composite testimony, where seigneurial, canonial and community influences are mixed. Sources also mention an earlier church as early as the 11th century, although the current building does not retain any visible traces.

Architecturally, the church is distinguished by its materials (partly coated limestone tiles, limestone slabs on the ground) and its flat tile covers. The tower-clocher, hors-oeuvre and preceded by a stone staircase turret, contrasts with the sobriety of the lower side and the choir. The corner foothills, the chorus reamped bays and the vaults of the lateral chapels bear witness to successive construction campaigns, while the asymmetric sacristy reflects later additions.

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