Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Pastour, located in Saint-Pastour in Lot-et-Garonne, was built at the end of the 15th century and completed at the beginning of the 16th century, as evidenced by an inscription engraved on the key vault of the nave: "the MDII year was completed the church and the roof of the vault". It partially replaces or reuses an earlier medieval building, the structure of which has been taken over to create a homogeneous whole. The southeast chapel and the stairway tower, adjacent to the southwest chapel, could be additions to this work campaign. Its Renaissance-style portal was added around 1530, marking a stylistic transition between late Gothic and the new artistic influences of the time.

The construction of the church is part of the post-war reconstruction of Cent Ans, during which time many villages in the South West, such as Saint-Pastour — a bastide — consolidated their religious and defensive infrastructures. The building, built of tufa stone, has a nave wide of two spans completed by a seven-sided choir, vaulted with warheads. Two side chapels flank the nave to the north, while in the south, a unique chapel supports the bell tower. A fourth chapel, backed by the right span of the choir, opens with an oblique arcade, revealing a bold architectural adaptation for the time.

Between 1833 and 1836, urgent work was carried out to save the vaults of the choir and the bedside wall, threatened with ruin. The estimate, prepared by a certain Garrouty, was executed by the contractor Costes. These interventions preserved the building, which was finally listed as historic monuments on January 7, 1926. In the 20th century, a restoration unfortunately led to the suppression of interior decoration and original furniture, partially altering its historical authenticity.

The dimensions of the church reflect its importance in the local landscape: 21.10 meters long, 16 meters for the arms of the transept, and a vault height reaching 10.10 meters in the nave. The bell tower, 17.50 meters high, is covered with flat tiles and pierced with bays in the middle of the hanger. The western portal, accessible by a ten-step porch, features Renaissance elements such as medallions and a central niche on the tympanum. These features make it a remarkable example of the transitional religious architecture between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Aquitaine.

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