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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The pyramid of Saint-Sulpice is a memorial located on the parapet of the bridge of Saint-Sulpice, on horseback between the communes of Saint-Sulpice-de-Cognac and Cherves-Richemont in Charente. This bridge, rebuilt in the 16th and 19th centuries, once crossed the Roman route between Saintes and Lyon. The pyramid, erected in the 18th century, marks a strategic place where two major military events took place: the gathering of Protestant troops after the Battle of Jarnac (1569), and a Scarmouche de la Fronde in 1651.

The monument first commemorates the retreat of the Protestant forces led by Admiral Gaspard II de Coligny, who organized the retreat to St John's Angely after their defeat at Jarnac. A century later, the same bridge was the scene of a confrontation between the outposts of the Prince of Condé and the troops of the Camp Marshal Molleville, under the orders of the Earl of Harcourt. These events, symbolized by the pyramid, underline the strategic importance of this crossing point on the Antenna.

Ranked a historic monument in 1965, the pyramid suffered several degradations due to collisions with vehicles, causing its temporary displacement. It was restored and replaced after the creation of a road diversion, thus preserving this testimony of the religious and political conflicts that marked the region. Today, it also marks the communal boundary between Saint-Sulpice-de-Cognac and Cherves-Richemont, while recalling, according to local tradition, the location of an ancient missing cross.

Architecturally, the bridge rests on five arches separated by solid foundations, without apparent radiating. The pyramid, initially surmounted by a cross according to oral sources, sits on the northern parapet. Its designation as a historic monument in 1965 recognized its heritage value, linked to both its turbulent history and its role as a territorial landmark.

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