Lancharre

The church of Lancharre

The church Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption in Lancharre, or what is left of it, once was part of a priory. The original nave of this Romanesque church was demolished in the 17th century, and only the transept, apses, choir and the bell tower are still in existence.

Interior 2012

Even though the church was not open, but closed off with a wall and a door, and hence not directly exposed to the elements, the building was in bad shape. The walls were full of cracks, the plaster was here and there heavily damaged or absent, in a word, the church could do with a renovation. It is always difficult for a commune of this size (Chapaize, 150 inhabitants) to cough up the dough for a restauration.

Interior 2012

However, with a little help from some friends, in this case the State, the Province, the Community, generous gifts from private persons and the revenue of cultural events in the commune, there has been enough money raised over the last 20 years to fund a restauration. The church has been given new stained glass windows, cracks were repaired, plasterwork and decorations were patched up, in a word, the church obtained a facelift.

Interior 2018

September first was the big day: this part of the restauration was finished, and the church was re-opened to the public.
An inauguration is not complete without festivities: there were 2 bagpipe players and a hurdy-gurdy player, there was a lecture about the history of the church, the Dutch madrigal choir Roundelay gave a concert and at the end the mayor of Chapaize declared the church officially opened.

Interior 2018

We saw the interior of the building for the last time in 2012, and comparing the before and after pictures reveal what has been done.
Hence: I take my hat off for those who contributed to the metamorphosis of Lancharre's church!

Roundelay 2018

For those who are really interested in what the church looked and looks I have set up some picture albums:
Exterior of the church
Interior around 2012
The church in September 2018