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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church Notre-Dame de Tilly, located in the Indre department in the Centre-Val de Loire region, is a Catholic building built between the end of the 12th century and the second half of the 15th century. It illustrates the transition between the Romanesque and Gothic styles, as evidenced by its architectural elements and its carved decor. The church once belonged to a priory dependent on the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Sauveur de Charroux, mentioned in archives of 1096 (or 1099) and 1471. His history was marked by restorations, including that of the nave around 1460-1465 and the erection of the bell tower between 1488 and 1493, which was thoroughly reshaped in 1737.

The structure of the church includes a rectangular nave followed by a narrower choir, finished with a flat bedside. The bell tower, entirely structural and independent of the masonries, is covered with slate essences and covered with a polygonal arrow. The Gothic murals of the north wall of the nave, discovered in 1975, represent major religious scenes: the legend of Saint Christophe, Saint Nicholas raising three children, and the weighing of souls. These frescoes, together with the structure preserved and dated by dendrochronology, are exceptional heritage elements.

The building, which has been listed as a historic monument since March 30, 2010, is also distinguished by its materials: sandstone stone for the choir and western façade, and small stonestones of sandstone and granite for the rest. The roof of the nave, with long sections covered with flat tiles, houses a chevron-forming-farm structure. The church, owned by the commune, is located on a full ground surrounded by ditches, near old buildings hypothetically linked to the prioral house. Its historical and religious role remains anchored in the landscape of Boischaut Sud, under the authority of the Archdiocese of Bourges.

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