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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The ancient chapel of Genêt, located in La Celle-Guenand (Indre-et-Loire), dates from the 15th century and embodies a modest but remarkable example of flamboyant Gothic architecture. Disused since the French Revolution, it preserves traces of its religious past, like a nave divided into two vaulted spans on dogives crossed, adorned with prismatic mouldings and carved ass-de-lampe. The flat bedside, pierced by a window with a partially destroyed flamboyant network, bears witness to its original style, while the north access, once surmounted by a braid, keeps track of a flower.

The chapel is probably linked to the d'Azay family, whose weapons appear inside, suggesting a construction in the second half of the 15th century. A document mentions Jehan Fougereau as lord of Genêt in 1427, although his exact role in the foundation of the place remains uncertain. The site, surrounded by houses and outbuildings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was inscribed in the Historical Monuments by decree of 15 October 1971, thus protecting its architectural heritage.

Architecturally, the chapel is distinguished by its vaults on dogive crosses and its carved details, characteristic of the late Gothic. The bedside window, although degraded, preserves elements of its flamboyant network, emblematic style of the late Middle Ages. Its present state, combined with its family and religious history, makes it a valuable testimony of the medieval heritage in Touraine, in the heart of the Centre-Val de Loire region.

Today, the location of the chapel (16 Les Genêts) is estimated with satisfactory accuracy (note 6/10), but its access and current vocation (visit, rental, etc.) are not specified in the available sources. Its registration as a Historical Monuments, however, underscores its heritage importance, despite its post-revolutionary decommissioning.

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