A fortified church

The parish church of Saint-Pierre in Mérignac, a former dependency of the cathedral chapter, is not dated by any text. It has been revised at various times. The old part of the church, with geometric decoration, was built during the third quarter of the 12th century. Various additions and restorations were carried out in 1578, 1644 and 1734.The nave is vaulted with three equal bays which would have been raised in 1733-1734. The fourth bay, much longer, has a vault of roughly the same date. Note the remains of two Romanesque columns and their sculpted capitals. The entire eastern part of the building dates from 1578. The bays of the nave have windows with columns and capitals in the shape of a telescope on both sides. The square choir, in warheads, is lit to the east by a window with a flamboyant network. To the south, a small barrel-vaulted chapel was built and to the north, the ground floor of the bell tower forms the transept arm. It is surmounted by a dome on pendentives. The facade is very deformed by two oblique buttresses applied to its corners in the 16th century. The apse is surmounted by a gable.The rectangular bell tower has a first floor whose Gothic bays have been blocked and a second with three twin bays, the center one of which is wider. This floor was added in the 18th century.The church has been listed as a historic monument since 1925.