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Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Valérie, also called the Moutier church, was built in the 12th century as a monastic church dependent on the abbey of Sainte-Valérie de Chambon-sur-Voueize. Founded between 1121 and 1125 by the local lords (Felletin, Saint-Julien, Aubusson, Chambon) and supported by the Counts of La Marche, it housed a monastic community under the authority of a prior. From this Romanesque period remain the deep choir, the south arm of the transept with its semicircular apsidiole, and three pillars of the cross. Excavations suggest that it replaced an older building.

In 1451, a disaster (fire or collapse) partially ravaged the church. The reconstruction was launched in 1454 under the impetus of Prior Jean Mourin d'Arfeuille, with the extension of the nave westward and the construction of a flamboyant Gothic bell tower between 1454 and 1477. This bell tower, the last of the great Limous bell towers, is distinguished by its three floors in retreat, its statues of saints, and its decoration of lily flowers. The nave, with a single vessel, was equipped with vaulted side chapels, while the north arm of the transept received a vault of warheads.

The Benedictine monks left the sanctuary in 1581, probably after the Protestant occupation of Felletin (1576–80). The church then became a parish church, but its maintenance was the subject of tensions with the rival parish of Beaumont, despite a concordat signed in 1602. In the 17th century, interior repairs were carried out, such as the installation of the high altar carved by François Duhamel in 1673, adorned with a Virgin with the Child and statues of Saint Anne and Saint Barbe. The altarpiece of the south arm, transferred in 1886, comes from the chapel of Sainte-Croix des Penitents Noirs.

In the 18th century, the state of the building deteriorated sharply: the bishop of Limoges, Louis Charles du Plessis d'Argentré, banned it in 1776. Work began in 1782 and in 1791 it became the main church of Felletin by royal decree. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1910, it benefited from major restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries, notably in 1834 (repair of the dome after a fire), between 1866 and 1872 (work conducted by architect Élie Pauly), and from 1991 to 1998 (architectural restoration and movable building).

The church preserves remarkable elements such as the murals rediscovered in 1991 (representing Saint Laurent and Saint Martin), the 19th century stalls, and the chapel of Lissiers, decorated by local weavers. Its bell tower, with its gargoyles and its statues under dais, illustrates the flamboyant limousine Gothic art, while the flat bedside and the apsidioles recall its Romanesque origin. The site, owned by the commune, bears witness to Felletin's religious and social history, marked by rivalries between medieval towns and post-Revolutional transformations.

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