Temple protestant

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

Saint-Jean-du-Gard is a town situated at the foot of the Corniche des Cévennes, at the crossroads of the Vallée Borgne and the Vallée française, crossed by the Gardon de Saint Jean. A large part of its inhabitants converted to the Reformation around 1560; the temple built then was razed in 1685. At the end of the 18th century, worship took place in the park of the pavilion, so pastor Génies wished from 1804 onwards the construction of a temple but the decision was delayed. On 29 March 1821, the council of civil buildings examined this file. The architect is not named and it is unknown whether it is the architect of the department Durand or Renaux, director of public works of Alès. The rapporteur M. Grillon criticised the project and proposed a sketch for a new project which is not known. On 21 September 1821, Pierre Arnavielle master mason of Alais is the successful bidder for the works; the site is acquired on 1 March 1822. The reception report drawn up by Renaux on 14 April 1827 notes that the total of the works exceeds the price of the adjudication because of the increases due to the fact that the site was not known when the estimate was drawn up and that the dimensions of the building were increased. The dedication of the temple takes place on Sunday 29 April 1827. A long lawsuit will oppose the town hall and the trustees of the bankruptcy of Arnavielle in 34 and in 38, the town must pay 4,221 f. including interest since the claim. From 1846 onwards, the vault of the temple threatened to fall into ruin and Bourdon, departmental architect, estimates the restoration at 1,104 f. In 1856, the presbytery council reports urgent repairs; the absence of gutters on the lateral facades caused the fall of the render. In 1860, a gift of 1,200 f. is made for the erection of a bell tower. The inauguration takes place on 29 August 1864 and the subsidy relates to the construction of the campanile and the restoration of the entrance door and the facade. The bell was given by the Caseing family. In 1883, new repairs are made to the vault and in 1886, assistance is granted for "various repairs to the render of the main facade, to the interior tiling, and to the entrance door and the establishment of vestibules at the doors ... " In 1911, the presbytery council approves the estimate of M. Laune for "the refection of the roof and floor, the whitewashing of the vault, the painting (in oil) of the walls and woodwork which will be fixed there ... nothing will be changed to the general appearance of the edifice .... " (see the longitudinal section drawn by architect P. Laune on 7 January 1911) and countersigned by pastor Cadix but this will not be carried out, in particular for the muntin added to the openings). In 1978, repairs concerned the heating, lighting and floor, and from 2016 to 2018 works on the facades and roofs then bringing up to standard (electricity, heating, floors, paintings and disabled access) were undertaken with the help of the Region, the department, the local authority and the Heritage Foundation. It is a very simple rectangular construction but of fine dimensions to accommodate 400 persons and of which only the facade is composed architecturally. The facade is flanked by double pilasters and crowned by a pediment. The rectangular entrance with its cornice accentuates the horizontals, tempered however by the circular oculus situated above. The neoclassical design is very monumental. The lateral doors with round arch are framed by thermal windows and the openings of the upper storey are round arch, the roof spaces being aerated by circular bull's-eye windows. The construction is in rubble stone render whilst the framing of the openings are in stone, as are the pilasters, the cornices and the pediment. On the interior, the galleries run all around the edifice. They are supported by columns of Doric order, doubled on the upper storey to support the cornice forming the base of the depressed vault. In the corners, the columns are replaced by pilasters. The balustrade of the galleries is solid and the whole is render and painted. The paintings emphasise the architecture. The pulpit forms a monument in itself, placed in front of the colonnade and accessible by a staircase with double revolution. A rectangular aedicule, the ground floor solid and marked at the corners by pilasters, the upper storey open supported by two columns, it reaches almost the level of the galleries. The preacher's platform forms a semi-circular projection, the only curve in this universe of horizontals and verticals. The photographs from 1988 show a painting in false marble which disappeared during the last works; these however respected the bi-chromatic but with lighter colours. The bell tower, built in 1864, completes every religious edifice; it is an aedicule pierced with a round arch opening and covered with a roof slope recalling the pediment situated below. The bell commissioned from the Marseille bell-founder Baudouin is financed by the Caseing family. The baroque organ of the 18th century created for the cathedral of Nancy was purchased by the family of du Puy de Montbrun and placed in 1958 then augmented in 1965 by two complementary stops. The neoclassical design of this facade appears to be influenced by the architect from Nîmes Charles Durand, author of the first courthouse of Nîmes and of numerous temples, including that of Vauvert. It is realised by Prosper Renaux, born in Alès on 26 November 1793, who studied in Alès then in Nîmes. He is appointed in 1819 director of public works of the town of Alès then architect of the department of Vaucluse in 1825, and resigns in 49 to exercise the position of diocesan architect. He resigns in 51 and dies on 11 March 1852 in Avignon (see biography by Olivier Liardet). He carried out numerous restorations, notably on the cathedrals but also on ancient monuments. He built little (north quay of Alès, churches of Beaumes-les-Venise, of Bollène; temples of Saint-Jean-de-Maruejols and of Saint-Paul-la-Coste...). These temples are more rudimentary than this one. Of 140 temples protected MH on the Mérimée database, Occitanie has 35 of which 4 are classified MH (including a former church). The temple of Saint-Jean-du-Gard is not original but it is among the largest in capacity and by its date (1827), it is representative of the neoclassicism which, following the influence of Charles Durand, particularly marked the constructions of the Gard.