Église Saint-Saturnin

English translation

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History

The commune of Chautay is situated to the east of the department of Cher, in the canton of La Guerche-sur-l'Aubois. At the end of the 9th century, the land of Chautay had been restored to the chapter of Sainte-Croix of Orléans by a diploma of Carloman. In 1151, the church is cited in a text of Eugène III which confirms the possessions of this chapter. It remained dependent upon it until the suppression of the parish during the Revolution. Bought by the comte and comtesse de Montsaulnin, the building was placed at the disposal of the commune, restored and furnished, and was erected as a parish church in 1839. The church of Saint Saturnin, whose construction appears to date from the end of the 12th century, is characteristic of the small Romanesque churches of Berry. As is very frequently the case in Berry, the church comprises a poor nave, simple rectangular hall, built of rubble stone render and probably timber-framed, associated with a vaulted choir, quite vast, more carefully finished, and terminated by a hemicycle apse in cut stone. The decorative elements of the external wall of the apse (sculpted modillions, archivolt and band supported by saw-tooth pattern) and, on the interior, the sculpted capitals of the engaged columns of the choir pillars, confer on the building a certain quality. A bell tower, of oblong plan, restored in the modern period and in the 19th century, rises on the bay of the choir. The work carried out in the 19th century, necessary for the preservation and stability of the building, and the addition of a sacristy, have not detracted from its authenticity. It is certainly modest but on the scale of a small town in a poor region. The village of Chautay is situated in a geographical sector which includes a fairly large number of Romanesque churches protected as Historic Monuments, essentially more important buildings, with richer decoration, because they are situated in the nearby valley of Germigny, which is more fertile. The church of Chautay has its place in this ensemble. The medieval seigneurial dwelling which occupies the back of the church square, forms with it and the former presbytery, a historical and architectural ensemble which it would be fitting to preserve. The municipality is making efforts to restore its church and the furnishings it contains.