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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Saint-Médard church of Saint-Mars-sous-Ballon, located in the Sarthe north of Le Mans, is a religious building dedicated to Médard de Noyon. Its Latin cross plan, typical of medieval churches, reflects its origin in the 13th century, with changes in the 15th, 16th and 19th centuries. It depends on the diocese of Le Mans and the parish of Ballon, in a territory marked by ecclesiastical and seigneurial influence.

The church houses an exceptional sundial dated 1699, attributed to Abbé André Valiquet (1624–1700). This gnomonic table in slate, initially horizontal but now vertically fixed, combines five dials indicating solar, lunar, Babylonian, italic and Judaic hours. She lost some of her inscriptions and styles, but retained her removable central disk to adjust the lunar phases.

The protected objects include a copper procession cross (XIVth century), a stone altarpiece (XIVth century), a statue of the Virgin with the Child made of wood (XIVth century), and a painting by Decherche (1726) inspired by Le Brun. A funeral plaque of 1502 commemorates priest Jehan Esnault, witness to the local anchoring of the Church.

On 22 April 1760 the blessing of the Alexandrine bell brought together notables and ecclesiasticals, including Étienne de Guibert, seigneur of the Chabotière, and Alexandrine de Savary des Brèves, wife of a brigadier of the royal armies. This event illustrates the social role of the church, a gathering place for ceremonies and alliances between aristocracy and clergy.

Ranked a historical monument in 1975, the church embodies the religious and scientific heritage of the Sarthe. Its sundial, rare in France, and its furniture testify to the astronomical and artistic knowledge of the 17th and 18th centuries, in a region then oriented towards agriculture and river exchanges via the Sarthe.

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