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Origin and history

La Tour du Pilori is an architectural vestige located in Lormaye, in the department of Eure-et-Loir, in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Built in the 15th and 16th centuries, it was the bell tower of the former Saint John Catholic Church, destroyed during the French Revolution. This monument is the only remaining element of this religious building, bearing witness to its local historical significance.

The tower is distinguished by its square structure, complemented by an octagonal turret at its base, becoming round from the second floor to house the access staircase. The left façade still preserves the traces of the vaults of the disappeared church. Since 1972, the Pilori Tower has been listed as a historical monument, and it now hosts the services of the town hall of Lormaye.

The building illustrates late medieval religious architecture, typical of the bell towers of this period in Eure-et-Loir. Its preservation allows to study the construction techniques and spatial organization of rural churches before their mass destruction during revolutionary upheavals. The tower also symbolizes the reassignment of historical buildings to civilian uses, a common practice in France after the secularization of ecclesiastical property.

Available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum) confirm its status as communal property and its official registration in 1972. Although the archives do not mention historical figures related to its construction, its role in local life – first as a place of worship, then as a city seat – reflects the evolution of community needs over the centuries.

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