The 1st human settlement in St Seurin takes the form of a Roman villa on the promontory where the medieval castle will stand in the shadow of which a village will develop for which will be built a 1st church dedicated to ST Martin, the apostle of the Gauls. A Romanesque church was built in the 12th century which, like the first churches of the diocese, depended on the bishop of Saintes. In 1174, one of them; Adhamar Carbonnel, conceded the church of the village of Uzel to the Prior of Mortagne. The latter is a Chamoine of the newly founded Order of St Augustine. This order works for the reform of the church after years of negligence and submission to the various temporal powers (reform known as Gregorian after the name of Pope Gregory VII, who inspired this breath of renewal in the middle of the 11th century). One of the great names of this order is an Aquitanian, Geoffroy de Loroux who, in 1136, becomes Archbishop of Bordeaux (he will participate in the Foundation of the Abbey of Sablonceaux which also depended on the Order of St Augustin). It is probably this connection with Aquitaine via the order of the Canons of St Augustin and the Priory of Mortagne which explains the new dedication of the parish church of Uzet to St Seurin, a St Bishop of Bordeaux from the beginning of the 5th century whose historicity is problematic even if it has a Basilica in Bordeaux dating from the beginning of the 11th century. St Seurin (Severinus), born in the East, would have arrived in Bordeaux around 410 and providentially met Bishop Arnandus. This one after a dream where the Lord would have told him that he had to go to meet his servant Severin, fell into his arms and together they returned to the church singing aloud psalms (comments collected in the book of Grégoire de Tours dedicated to the St Shepherds of Gaul). This is how Severinus would have become bishop of Bordeaux. Having become dilapidated and having suffered greatly from the horrors of the religious wars, the church of Uzet was abandoned during the 17th century, its destruction was ordered in 1707. A new church was rebuilt nearby in 1689 but near the port, there where the new town had settled. This church is mentioned in 1709 by C. Masse during one of his wanderings in Saintonge, mentioning a "large chapel". Work continued until its official consecration in 1710 by the Archpriest of St Fort, Fleurinon, and the titular priest of the Parish of St Seurin d'Uzet, Michel Allary. Between 1857 and 1859, a restoration campaign was led by Victor Fontorbe, who slightly modified the structure of the building. This neo-Romanesque building forms a single vessel with 2 bays, ending in a semi-circular apse. 2 apsidioles are added to the nave, one of which, dating from 1721, houses the seigniorial chapel of the barons of Uzet. The vaults of the sanctuary are fully framed, like the hull of an overturned ship. The neo-Toman style facade features arcades and corbels surmounting a tympanum representing Christ and the Evangelists.
Translated by Google •
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