Église Sainte-Julie et Saint-Cyr de Saint-Xist

English translation

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History

This church formerly depended on the archpriest of Boussagues. It is mentioned from 1135 onwards. In the 13th century, Saint-Xist was a rectory forming part of the demesne of Joncels. The church formerly had two annexes: Frangouille and Saint-Vincent. The first still existed in 1789; the second had ceased to exist by 1600. The parish was then served by a curé and a vicar. The building is oriented, with a single nave and flat chevet. At the level of the choir bay and choir, four lateral chapels open, giving it a Latin cross plan. To the south the cloister develops. The bell tower stands to the north, near the chevet. Nave and choir are covered with a pointed barrel vault. The lateral chapels are vaulted with rib vaults. A roof space has been arranged above the nave and choir, with access from the sacristy. A series of twelve arrow slits with a defensive role have been made at the two ends of the building. The entrance door, with a pointed arch, is framed by fairly rich moulding: paired colonettes on the jambs echo the moderation of the arch. A discoid stele has been placed, in reuse, on the gable of the western façade. The bell tower, of quadrangular plan, has three storeys. The first storey was originally open on all four faces. The second storey is pierced with paired openings. The cloister opens by eight round arches, carrying a gallery that surrounds the courtyard. It is bordered by a wall one metre high. The gallery is covered by a roof structure that rests on a series of sixteen columns. These are columns of polygonal section with cubic capitals. The whole determines five periods of construction: Romanesque bell tower (12th century) against which the present church was built on the site of an older building; nave and chevet of the end of the 13th or 14th century, as well as the upper parts with their defensive elements; lateral chapels in the 15th or 16th century; the cloister appears to correspond to an addition of the 16th or 17th century; presbytery of the 17th or 18th century.