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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church of Saint-André de Clion, located in the Charente-Maritime department in New Aquitaine, is a Catholic building dating back to at least the twelfth century. It presents an irregular plan composed of two unequal naves, including a chapel Notre-Dame added later. Its quadrangular bell tower, decorated with columnette windows, dates back to this medieval period and bears witness to its historical importance.

The church served as a burial place for local lords, notably Robert de La Rochandry, buried in front of the altar in 1529. In 1793, during the French Revolution, it was threatened with destruction by revolutionaries. Marguerite Geneviève Pelletreau, widow of the notary Jean-Jacques Landreau, intervened despite her infirmity to save the building, thus preventing its demolition.

The Renaissance façade, erected in 1543 thanks to a gift from Blanche d'Aubeterre, replaces the original and has mutilated statuettes representing St Peter, St Andrew and the evangelists. A 12th century inscription, A LAVACOLLA, evokes an emblematic place of the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela, highlighting the historical links between the church and the jacquarian roads.

Classified as a historical monument in 1909 for its bell tower and apse, the church was partially listed in 2000. Its architecture combines medieval elements (bells, circular apses) and additions of the 15th and 16th centuries, such as the lateral nave communicating with the main nave by ogival arcades.

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