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Origin and history

The church of Saint John the Baptist of Escalans, mentioned in 1088 as the church of Scalens, was given to the Clunisian abbey of Eauze before being attached to the priory of Gabarret in 1230. From this first Romanesque period (XII century) remain the bedside in hemicycle, adorned with carved capitals, and a southern absidiole dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. A lapidary inscription commemorates the dedication of an altar on December 16 (unspecified vintage). The nave and transept, added later in the same century, complete this initial structure, marked by clunisian influence.

In the 14th century, Gothic modifications transformed the building: the south wall of the nave was enhanced in stone and pierced with lancettes, while the west façade, redone, included a fortified triangular bell tower-wall and a basket handle arcade housing a vault. These adjustments reflect the defensive needs associated with the hundred-year war disturbances. A circular staircase tower, added to the southwest corner, facilitates access to the attic and bell tower.

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, the church, partially ruined, underwent a major renovation excluding the Romanesque choir. Northern absidiole, too damaged, is replaced by a square domed vaulted chapel (using Romanesque materials), and the arms of the transept are restored with complex dogid vaults. In 1546, an episcopal report attests to three new chapels, two of them on the senestral side (north). The nave vaulting project, mentioned at the same time, remains inabouti: only four circular piles at angles are built, condemning the old stair turret.

The following centuries brought little structural change, except for the transformation of the southern absidiole into a sacristy (restored at the end of the 20th century) and annexation of the northeast chapel to the adjacent presbytery, built between the 17th and 18th centuries. The latter, now abandoned, keeps a dome vault ruined. Despite a precarious state of conservation, the roof was rebuilt in 1983. The building, registered with the Historical Monuments in 1973, thus illustrates almost nine centuries of architectural and religious history in Gascony.

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