Chapelle d’Aurelle

About

Located on a rocky ridge, in an exceptional site, the abandoned village of Aurelle is worth a visit. The 14th century chapel, with its bell tower and comb, is listed as a Historic Monument. It can only be reached by footpaths. Traduction automatique par DeepL via DATAtourisme

The primitive church was destroyed in 1382 by order of the lord.
It was rebuilt the following year in the Romanesque style and with the same simple plan: a single nave with three bays and a straight choir ending in a semicircular apse
The axis of the building is not perfectly oriented to the East, but slightly bent towards the North-East, to better adapt to the conformation of the place.

INTERIOR:

The nave, 4 m wide, has a pointed barrel vault
The arches rest on a cornice, at a height of 3.5 m and rise to
5,60 m. The paving is basic.
The bays are unequal in width, from 2.65 m towards the choir, to 3.10 m.
The double arches, which punctuate the bays, are supported on the outside by solid projecting buttresses
The decoration, although modest, becomes richer as one moves towards the altar. The pilaster whose carving follows the shape of the cornice is replaced by a pilaster with a double scroll, cushioned by engaged half-columns.
The lighting of the nave is limited on the south side by a narrow window in the middle bay. On the west side, a small late bay illuminated the tribune, now disappeared, above the entrance
The right choir bay is enriched with a narrow bench and a built-in cupboard. Two small splayed bays, open on each side, provide little light, which must have been compensated for by a bright whitewash
The stone and plaster polychromy can still be seen in places.
The semicircular apse, with a barrel vault, closes the building on the east.
Of the furnishings and statues, only a few things remain: the baptismal font and two altar stones, one with a double recess, the other found in 1964, even more frustrating with a small cavity in its centre.

EXTERIOR

:
It is as simple as the interior
Open to the west, the pointed-arch portal has double arches falling on projections from which emerge simple, eroded Gothic columns.
On one foot, an engraved stone representing the sun or a monstrance may have been replaced. The wooden leaves bear the date 1774.
Above the door, the gable opens with a small bay topped by a human figure.
The strong projections of the buttresses give rhythm to the wall
The semi-circular chevet rests directly on the rock. A schist slope forms the base. Then, the masonry rises in sandstone with two half-engaged columns with simple bases and capitals. Elements of the old destroyed building may have been reused, such as the sandstone stones in the curvilinear panels, which would have come from an old Romanesque bay.
The whole is crowned by a projecting cornice on which the roof rests
Before its restoration, the roof was made of a clay form on the extrados of the vaults, serving as a support for shale cut into scales.
The wall-belfry, or comb-belfry, built on the arch separating the nave from the choir, has two arches, each intended to receive a bell, and a framework covered with schist.

During excavations in 1964, the parish priest of Verlac discovered the remains of a statue of the Virgin and Child in a hieratic position typical of Romanesque art. A second statue was found in the frame of the altar. Made of painted stone, in a standing position, it represents St Clair, dressed as a bishop with an alb and chasuble with three large V-shaped folds in front. He is wearing the mitre, holding the episcopal crosier with his left hand and blessing with his right hand. On the base is written in red gothic letters: “S. CLAIR”
Dated from the 15th or 16th century, it is listed as a Historic Monument since 1986.
Near the church, a roadside cross representing, on one side
christ on one side and the Virgin Mary crowned by two angels on the reverse
2 angels with a shaft comprising 4 characters, has disappeared.
The bells of Aurelle:

The bell tower-wall of Aurelle had 2 bells, reported in 1524. In the 17th century only one remained. Dated from the 16th century and classified as a historical monument in 1938, it is said that it was hidden or forgotten by the Jacobins of St Geniez during the Revolution
Installed in the church of Verlac in 1816 by order of the Prefect, it was removed on January 30, 1817 by the inhabitants of Aurelle and brought back to the chapel, arms in hand
In 1977, it was definitively installed in the bell tower of the church of Verlac.
The bell, which has travelled so much, bears the inscription: “AVÉ MARIA G(RATI)A PLENA D(OMIN)US TECUM”. It is decorated with a cross and the seal of the founder in the shape of an almond with a bell in the centre and an illegible name.

Text from “St Pierre d’Aurelle
realized by the “Association of the Friends of Aurelle” (Breet Edition) Traduction automatique par DeepL via DATAtourisme

Spoken languages : French

Location