Eglise Notre-Dame
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Notre-Dame, located in Selommes (Loir-et-Cher), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Selommes, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.7563, 1.1934
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098603
In the heart of the Vendôme region, the church of Notre-Dame de Selommes boasts a 12th-century Romanesque portal and exceptionally sophisticated opus spicatum stonework, a fascinating example of rural Romanesque art in the Loir-et-Cher region.
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History
Nestling in the peaceful village of Selommes, on the edge of the Vendôme region, Notre-Dame church is one of those discreet gems that the Loire countryside conceals with disconcerting modesty. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1926, it offers attentive visitors a living stone lesson in the skills of twelfth-century Romanesque builders, a far cry from famous cathedrals but no less admirable for its detail. What immediately sets Notre-Dame de Selommes apart is the rich ornamentation of its entrails: the runners and roof beams are carved at the ends with the heads of fantastic animals, stylised foliage and enigmatic figures, creating a gallery of medieval figures that populate the space before the visitor's very eyes. This feature, which is rare in rural buildings of this size, bears witness to a remarkable aesthetic concern on the part of those who commissioned the work and the local craftsmen. The western portal, preserved in exceptional condition, is the highlight of the façade. Its columns with foliated capitals, moulded bases and semi-circular double arch with chamfered stringcourse create a soberly elegant entrance, typical of late Romanesque architecture in the Loir valley. The eastern gable, a veritable exercise in decorative virtuosity, features a variety of bonding techniques - horizontal, opus spicatum, lozenge and triangular - like a mineral kaleidoscope that has few equivalents in the region. The tour also reveals the turbulent history of the bell tower, whose domed vault on pendentives once collapsed, taking with it medieval wall paintings whose splendour we can only imagine today. What remains speaks for itself: the square tower to the north of the choir, the sober volumes of the un-vaulted nave and choir, the contemplative atmosphere of a space that has not sacrificed its soul to restoration. Selommes, a quiet village in the Loir-et-Cher region, offers an ideal bucolic setting for this discovery. The church is a natural part of an itinerary of Romanesque art in the Vendôme region, in the company of other remarkable rural buildings that line the Loir valley between Vendôme and Lavardin.
Architecture
The church of Notre-Dame de Selommes has a simple, rural layout, consisting of a single nave extended by a choir, both of which have no stone vaulting - a modest layout but one that is consistent with the architectural production of rural parishes in the Loir-et-Cher during the Romanesque period. The exposed roof timbers, which cover the whole structure, are decorated with carved ends that are one of the main attractions of the building: fantastic animal heads, stylised foliage and human silhouettes make up a medieval bestiary suspended above the congregation. The western portal is the centrepiece of the façade. Its engaged columns rest on moulded bases and are crowned with capitals decorated with beautiful Romanesque foliage. The opening is under a semicircular arch, itself surmounted by a second arch whose chamfered stringcourse provides a decorative transition. The whole is reminiscent of the Romanesque workshops that were active in the Loir valley during the second third of the 12th century. At the junction of the chancel and nave, on the north side, stands the square bell tower, whose lower room - now the sacristy - retains the remains of a former dome vault on pendentives, which collapsed during an earlier disaster. The east gable is an architectural curiosity with no equivalent in the immediate region: the rubble stones are arranged in an increasing range of geometric motifs - horizontal at the base, opus spicatum above, then rubble stones laid on the corner, lozenges, triangles and complex variations of elongated hexagons. This accumulation of decorative registers, which progresses from the ground to the ridge like an educational demonstration of medieval lapidary vocabulary, gives the building a unique personality in the Vendôme Romanesque landscape.
Related Figures
Bâtisseurs romans anonymes du XIIe siècle, maîtres maçons et sculpteurs de l'atelier vendômoisMoines de l'abbaye de la Trinité de Vendôme, acteurs probables du développement paroissial de Selommes au XIe siècleCurés de Selommes des XVe-XVIe siècles, responsables de la reconstruction partielle du clocher après l'effondrement de la voûteInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le dossier d'inscription en 1925-1926
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Notre-Dame located?
Eglise Notre-Dame is located in Selommes, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Eglise Notre-Dame built?
Eglise Notre-Dame dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Eglise Notre-Dame open to visitors?
Eglise Notre-Dame is currently closed to visitors.