Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Barthélemy de Laplume, located in the Lot-et-Garonne department, was built in the early sixteenth century. On 24 April 1510, a contract was signed between the consuls of the city and two masons of Nerac, Guilhem Masgantié and Georges Prince, to erect the building on the model of the church of the preaching brothers of Lectoure. The funding, set at 1,215 books tournaments, includes local participation in the form of working days and the provision of stones. The first stone was laid on December 10, 1511, and the work lasted until 1525, with notable interventions such as the glass windows made in 1515 by the Agenese glassmaker Barthelemy Laurens.

The church was consecrated on 6 November 1541, as attests to an inscription on the third southern pillar. However, it suffered damage during the Wars of Religion, particularly during the bag of Laplum by the troops of Montgomery in 1570. The bell tower, damaged several times (trembly of earth in 1660, lightning in 1680), saw its arrow incomplete due to these conflicts. The vaults, weakened by falls of stones in 1698 and 1760, bear witness to the hazards suffered by the building over the centuries.

Ranked a historical monument in 2006, the church is distinguished by its late Gothic architecture, mixing a polygonal bedside, a nave with side chapels, and a bell tower decorated with hybrid sculptures (angels, demons, fantastic animals). The monumental portal, with interlaced mouldings and an empty tympanum, as well as the Saint-Gilles screw staircase, reflect the influence of regional workshops. The archives keep the original estimate of 1510-1511, assigning the master's degree to the architect Pierre Saint-Cyr.

The historical sources, such as the works of Georges Tholin (1874) or the reports of the Archaeological Congress of France (1969), underline the importance of this monument in the religious heritage of the Agenes. Its present state, despite the vicissitudes, makes it possible to appreciate an emblematic edifice of stylistic transitions and political unrest of the Renaissance in Guyenne.

External links