Church was built in the 12th century but its apse was rebuilt in the 13th century. Damaged during the 100 years war, it was restored for the first time in the 18th century, then a second time in the 19th century, but maintenance is still necessary today.
The church is built according to an elongated plan, with a single nave and a flat chevet. The cupolas and portals are among the remarkable elements of this church.
The gable facade and three levels of arcades is richly decorated. The arched and coved central portal is flanked by two equally arched niches, each surmounted by a group sculpted in bas-relief. Above is a level of five blind arcades, of which the central one is openworked with a semicircular bay, then still above a level of six blind arcades. The gable is flanked by two openwork stone pinnacles. The square bell tower is located on the last Romanesque span to the east of the nave. The spire that crowns its bell tower pierced with bays on two levels is a work of the architect Paul Abadie (1812 - 1884).
The Saint-Martin church belongs to the series of domed churches in the Charente valley: four domes on pendentives of the nave overhang the four bays. The elevation is on two levels with a level of large blind arches set against the gutter walls, and a level of large windows. The Gothic chevet is rectangular. Two ribbed vaults from the 13th century cover its two bays.
A major restoration campaign was carried out in the 19th century
Paul Abadie (Jr.) was born on November 9, 1812 in Paris. He entered the École des Beaux-Arts in 1835 under the direction of Monsieur Achille Leclère. Participating in the architectural rediscovery of the Middle Ages, Abadie was known to be interested in the restoration of medieval monuments and buildings.
In 1845, he became second inspector of the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, under the direction of the architects Violet le Duc and Lassus. In 1862, he was appointed diocesan architect of the Saint-André cathedral in Bordeaux. In 1872, he became general inspector of diocesan buildings, then in 1874 diocesan architect of Paris, replacing Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. In 1874 he also replaced him as architect of Notre-Dame de Paris and in 1875 he was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux Arts.
Abadie began the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, but he died during its construction, on August 3, 1884, in Chatou (Yvelines). Apart from ecclesiastical and state commissions, Abadie is known to have accepted only one commission private, the Chateau de Mailleberchie, in 1875, which he designed in great detail, as a complete neo-medieval work of art, including stone carvings, gargoyles, stained glass. , metalwork, wood carvings, furniture, upholstery, wall fabrics and wallpapers.