Église de la Nativité-de-Notre-Dame

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

The castle of Bassoues is mentioned from 1020 onwards but the present village, with regular layout, taking over from the agglomeration constituted around Saint-Fris seems to exist only from the 13th century, a period during which the archbishops of Auch made it their residence. In 1295, Archbishop Amanieu II d'Armagnac granted a charter of customs to this new village. The parish seat, then situated at Saint-Fris was transferred to this new agglomeration at the present church of Notre-Dame, situated near the residence of the archbishops. This first building was enlarged in the 14th century and 15th century. On 12 May 1512, the church was erected into a collegiate church of 12 canons. In the second half of the 18th century, various work of repair concern the flooring, the whitewashing of the walls, masonry work to the "buttressing pillars" and the roof covering. In 1840, the portal is restored. From 1873 to 1875, work is carried out which gives the church its present interior appearance. The north outer wall of the nave is rebuilt in alignment with that of the sanctuary. The vaulting of the choir is carried out starting from the departure of the existing supports and ribs, the nave is covered with broken barrel vault in lattis. The church suffering from recurring problems of infiltration due to its situation, work of drainage and refurbishment of the floor are programmed in 1882.

Description

The building measures approximately 43 metres in length. Externally, because of the slope of the terrain, the outer wall is much more elevated than the northern one. Access is made from the church square by a broken arch portal opening at the base of the square-plan bell tower. The single nave is covered by a broken arch barrel vault made of plaster and lattis which dates back to the work of the last third of the 19th century. It leads to a choir vaulted with ribs. On the north side opens a chapel. On the south side, two chapels, of different depth, frame a monumental stone pulpit (15th century), to which access is gained by a door opening onto the nave, a staircase and a small chamber at the back of the body. A sculptured corbel of a sort of caryatid supports successive offsets which themselves bear the body in cut pans of the pulpit. The corbels receiving the springing of the vaults of the chapels represent human heads of vernacular style. The entire ensemble of the nave and choir is covered with painted decoration at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The walls and the false lattis vault are covered with stencilled decoration. Furthermore, at the vault, large medallions receive representations of the evangelists, of Saint Peter and of Saint Paul and, near the entrance to the choir, of two angels bearing symbols, chalices and host. On the end wall, Paul Noël Lasseran painted in 1923 a vast composition representing the death of saint Fris, victor over the Saracens. On the north outer wall, the war memorial of 1914-1918 is also adorned with a painted decoration by the same Lasseran: the altar and the white marble plaque receiving the names of the dead are surrounded by a vast composition inscribed in a broken arch; at the summit, in a cloud, angels cast crowns of laurel, on the sides, two other angels, one of which holds a palm, stand out against the urban landscape of Bassoues.