Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Pierre de Pouligny-Saint-Pierre was built in the second half of the 12th century, with a nave of three spans and a choir of two spans. The bell tower, added to the 1st quarter of the 13th century, was not originally planned, as evidenced by a window walled above the gate. This bell tower, initially opened on three sides, saw its bays closed in the 15th century, when the church was covered with a broken cradle panelling, still visible in the attic.

In the 15th century, around 1500, the current choir was built as an extension of the old, while the chapel of Sainte-Marguerite, commanded by the Lord of Tessonnières, was backed by the north wall. Its dogive vaults, decorated with murals (Annunciation, Apostles) made in the last quarter of the 15th century, rest on carved caps representing human heads. The dominant colours (yellow ochre, red brown, blue) and motifs (crossed rubans, water leaves) illustrate the rural religious art of the period.

Between 1868 and 1893, the departmental architect Alfred Dauvergne carried out important works: construction of the chapel of the Virgin (two spans east of the chapel of Sainte-Marguerite), laying a brick vault under the window of the nave (1893), and modifications of the bell tower (openings walled after 1884 for the installation of the clock). A fire in 1912 led to a general interior renovation, marking the last major transformation of the building.

The church is singularized by its Romanesque decoration (crossed ribbons and human heads) and its Gothic furniture, like the vault with eight quarters of the chapel Sainte-Marguerite. The roofs, covered with tiles or slates, and the polygonal arrow of the slate bell tower complete to define its composite architectural character, reflecting nearly nine centuries of local religious history.

External links