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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church Saint-Pierre de Chaillevois, located in the department of Aisne in the Hauts-de-France region, is a Latin cross-shaped religious building, supported by foothills and equipped with a nave with collateral. Its central bell tower, surmounted by a building, houses a spiral staircase accessible by an elegant tower pierced with ogival windows. The Romanesque portal, now walled, and the eight lobes of the southern transept evoke architectural influences close to the cathedral of Laon. Inside, the vaulted choir dominates a crypt accessible by nine steps, housing an empty sarcophagus decorated with a Maltese cross, probably linked to a knight of this order.

The construction of the church would have started in 1023 under the impetus of Adalberon, bishop of Laon, but was interrupted at his death in 1031. The work resumed under Bishop Elinand, who consecrated the building at Saint-Pierre in 1056. Some parts, threatened with ruin, were rebuilt in the 12th or 13th centuries. The church suffered major damage during revolutions and wars: in 1791 two of its three bells were melted to make cannons, and in 1917 the Germans removed two bells and the bombing destroyed part of the bell tower. Several restorations took place, notably in 1869, after 1919, and in the 1980s.

The church is marked by ancient popular practices, such as the crypt called Trou-Saint-Maur, where mothers placed their sick children in the sarcophagus to predict their survival. In 1931, two new bells were blessed, restoring the pre-war carillon. Partly listed as historical monuments in 1932 (crypt, choir, bell tower, transept), it was fully listed as a heritage of Aisne in 1986. Its architecture combines Romanesque and Gothic elements, testifying to its evolution throughout the centuries.

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