The church of Notre-Dame de Corme-Écluse was the seat of a former Benedictine priory. In 1105, the bishop of Saintes, Ramnufle, donated it to the monastery of Saint-Jean-d’Angély, “so that he could always enjoy it and possess it in perpetuity”. The abbey is said to have been behind the reconstruction of the building in the middle of the 12th century.
Characteristic of Romanesque architecture, this building has a façade framed by two buttresses. The church has a rich sculpted ensemble of intertwined human, animal and plant motifs on the capitals and voussoirs of the façade, devoid of any religious character. Little impacted by the Wars of Religion, the monument has undergone few transformations over time. From the end of the 18th century, maintenance work was undertaken mainly inside the church, including the repointing of the walls and paintings.
In 1822, the reconstruction of the bell frame was launched, then in 1852, the west facade was redone. A new restoration took place around 1860, the sacristy was enlarged by the construction of a semi-circular annex in the extension of the Romanesque apse. From 1880, a campaign of repair of the roofs was undertaken, then a new belfry was placed in the bell tower. From 1890 to 1900, the cemetery which surrounded the church was moved to the "Fief des Rentes". This former burial place was thus transformed into a public square.
From 1926, the roof of the choir was replaced and the bell tower made watertight. In 1971, the work programme included the renovation of the exterior walls, the demolition of the false apse and the sacristy which hid the apse of the south transept, the repointing of the western façade and the restoration of the bell tower.
In 1990, the main door was replaced by oak leaves with the repointing of the stones and the replacement of the arch keystone, which had collapsed. In the 2000s, the municipality had the mechanism of the two belfry bells repaired, the building was illuminated, the tiles were reworked and the plants growing on the building were removed. Maintenance work is still necessary.
Translated by Google •
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