Ensemble de la tour du Bas

English translation

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History

Le Bas is an ancient village which is said to have been destroyed by the Huguenots in the 16th century. The abbey of Caunes had established a priory of Saint-Jacques there, the title of the church of which only the tower remains. The place is cited by no text prior to the 17th century. The building presents itself as a high square tower to which is attached, on the south face, a modern chapel. This building occupies the site of the former church. A few blocks of limestone reinforce the angles in places. Up to about ten metres in height, the tower is blind, except for a narrow loophole on each face. The upper storey is widely pierced by two large openings on each face. At this level, the use of dressed stone extends to the corner chains. During the transformation of the tower into a dovecote (before 1706), a roof with a single slope was constructed at the expense of the arcatures of the south face.