Église Saint-Symphorien

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

An archive mentions the donation of the church by Childebert I to the prince Vulphin for the abbey of Selles-sur-Cher. In the 15th century, a priory existed at Billy. Under Francis I, the church was part of the crown domain until the king's death. The building comprises a nave, a choir with a five-sided apse, two chapels forming a transept and a bell tower placed on the south side of the nave. The oldest part is the nave, whose north wall is faced with rubble stone laid in small courses. The choir and apse were built at the end of the 15th century. The portal was entirely remade in the second half of the 19th century. Above the oculus, two panels have been placed plumb with the door jambs of the portal, each forming three arcatures, each arcature sheltering a statuette. These panels could come from decoration removed from the façade and were undoubtedly placed there during an old repair. Inside, the walls of the nave were covered with 15th-century paintings of which only traces remained at the beginning of the 20th century. One scene represented the martyrdom of Saint Blaise and two saints. Below these two scenes, a frieze was decorated with large scrollwork. The bell tower is a square tower whose access to the upper floor is by a spiral staircase in a projecting turret.