Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint Martin de Salles church, built in the first half of the 12th century, retains major architectural elements of this period. The choir, vaulted with warheads, and part of the nave in the cradle testify to its Romanesque origin. These vestiges, though partial, illustrate the medieval construction techniques of the Poitou-Charentes region, now integrated into New Aquitaine.

At the end of the 15th century, a seigneurial chapel was attached to the south wall of the choir, reflecting the influence of the local lords on the religious building. This chapel, destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century, marks a first major transformation. The 19th century also saw the conversion of the nave into a home and the addition of a southern chapel as well as a neo-Roman-style bell tower, profoundly changing the original appearance of the church.

The building experienced several restoration and repair campaigns, notably in the seventeenth century (circa 1650), between 1751 and 1769, and on the eve of the French Revolution. Sold as a national property in 1796-1798, its remaining part was bought by the Count of Lescours before being transferred to the commune in 1845. In 1853, four foothills were repaired and a campanile erected, followed in 1876 by the construction of a side chapel topped by a bell tower, under the direction of architect Alcide Boutaud and entrepreneur Pierre Foisseau.

Today, only the Romanesque choir, inscribed in the Historical Monuments since 1997, remains as testimony of the original medieval church. The subsequent transformations, though significant, reflect the successive adaptations of the building to the cultural and social needs of later eras, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era.

External links