Église Saint-Claude

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 history of Villeneuve is closely linked to that of the Aureille family. Indeed, this family saw its status evolve at the beginning of the 15th century, when the family acceded to nobility, to the rank of esquire. From then on, the D'Aureille ruled over Villeneuve. The family acquired considerable renown thanks to Rigault d'Aureille, master of the household to King Louis XI, Charles VIII, Louis XII and Francis I. It was he who had the château of Villeneuve-Lembron built. Similarly, the church was built from the end of the 15th century by Rigault under the patronage of Saint Claude. Upon its construction, the church was dependent on the parish of Mareugheol and only obtained in 1502 its constitution as a distinct parish. In 1517, the commune of Villeneuve became a barony. In the middle of the 16th century, Villeneuve passed into the hands of the Montmorin, who remained lords of the place until the 17th century. In the middle of the 17th century, the Dufour became barons of Villeneuve and undertook work in the church. They built a seigniorial chapel to the north-west in which they carried out a campaign of painted decoration with their arms. Modifications also took place in the 19th century. A recent campaign of surveys uncovered the wall paintings (notably of the chapels) and made it possible to identify the different layers of paintings, dating for the oldest from the 16th century, but also from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. These discoveries make it possible to trace the history of the building, strongly linked to the different families who succeeded one another at the head of the barony of Villeneuve.

Description

Located a few metres to the south of the château of Villeneuve-Lembron, the church is oriented and follows a Latin cross plan. The tympanum of the west portal bears the coat of arms of Rigault d'Aureille. The church consists of a nave with four bays vaulted with a broken barrel vault. Initially, it had three bays, the fourth bay being an extension of the 19th century. The two last bays each open onto a side chapel, all vaulted with a vault of arête. They house remarkable furnishings (sculpted wooden altars, four statues of Saint John the Baptist, the Virgin and Child, Saint Catherine and Saint Claude). Originally composed of a flat chevet, the choir is augmented in the 17th century by an apse vaulted with a semi-dome. The entire vault of the choir comprises painted decoration. The part vaulted with a vault of arête bears decoration composed of floral motifs and scrollwork, probably dating from the 18th century, whilst the paintings of the semi-dome depict a starred vault, with at its centre the dove of the Holy Spirit, in relief. The choir is separated from the nave by a doubling arch, resting on square pillars on which is sculpted the coat of arms of the D'Aureille family. The bell tower, constructed above the south-west chapel, is topped with a domed roof in the imperial style. The nave is covered by a double-pitched roof, the chevet by a hipped roof.