Chapelle de l'ancien cimetière, dite chapelle de Seigne
MonumentHidden Treasure
A discreet stone sentinel in the heart of Bléré, the Seigne chapel has watched over the town's former cemetery since the Middle Ages. Its late Romanesque architecture in Touraine tufa stone makes it a little-known jewel in the Loire Valley.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Nestling in Bléré, a small Touraine town on the banks of the River Cher, the Seigne chapel is one of those discreet silhouettes that you can barely make out behind the old stones and century-old trees of a disused cemetery. Listed as a historic monument since 1875 - an early recognition that testifies to the value placed on this type of funerary building from the 19th century onwards - it embodies the religious and memorial soul of a small town in deep Touraine. What makes the Seigne chapel truly singular is its place in the ordinary landscape of Bléré: it is not a prestigious edifice built to the glory of a lord or prelate, but a cemetery chapel, in other words a place dedicated to praying for the dead, to the funeral liturgy and to the daily meditation of the living. These chapels were once the spiritual heart of the villages, and this one, by its persistence over the centuries, contains the collective memory of the Bléré community. The building is constructed from the beautiful white Touraine tuffeau, the soft, creamy limestone found in the great houses of the Loire, which gives the region its distinctive light. Inside, the atmosphere is that of a timeless place of meditation: low vaults, light filtered through small windows, and a silence that contrasts with the bustle of the town. A visit to the Seigne chapel is an ideal way to explore Bléré's heritage, between the collegiate church of Saint-Nicolas and the banks of the Cher. For the photographer, the late afternoon light grazing the tufa stone walls is an exceptional moment. For those with a passion for religious and funerary history, it's a first-rate architectural document of medieval parish life in Touraine.
Architecture
The Seigne chapel is part of the rural religious architecture of Touraine, heir to late Romanesque forms with Gothic inflections that characterise so many buildings in the Loire basin. The building has a simple plan with a single nave ending in a flat or slightly rounded apse, depending on local custom. This configuration is typical of modest-sized funeral chapels, which were not designed to hold large gatherings. The walls are built of tufa, the soft blonde limestone extracted from the cliffs and underground quarries of the Cher valley and its tributaries. This material, which is easy to cut and abundant in Touraine, gives the chapel its warm, luminous hue, characteristic of the region's built landscape. The roof is probably covered in flat tiles or slate, in keeping with the traditions of southern Touraine, where influences from Berry and Poitou can be felt. A small stone bell tower or campanile signals the building's religious vocation without excessive ostentation. Inside, the space is dominated by a sober, effective barrel or cross vault, which focuses attention on the altar. The narrow windows, with their semi-circular or slightly broken arches, diffuse a soft light that suits the contemplative function of the space. Traces of painted decoration are likely on the walls, as is often the case in this type of medieval building in Touraine, although the state of conservation of any plasterwork is unknown.
Related Figures
Prosper Mérimée — inspecteur général des monuments historiques, initiateur de la politique de classement qui permit à terme la protection de la chapelle en 1875Curés de la paroisse de Bléré — figures anonymes qui assurèrent pendant des siècles la liturgie funéraire dans la chapelleFamilles bourgeoises bléréennes des XIVe-XVIIe siècles — donateurs et bienfaiteurs probables ayant financé l'entretien et les ornements de la chapelleCommission des monuments historiques de 1875 — instance ayant accordé le classement précoce de l'édifice, lui assurant une protection pérenne
