The Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montrésor Church is a former collegiate church located in the city of Montrésor, part of the Indre-et-Loire department in France.
Founded in 1521 by Imbert de Batarnay, Lord of Montrésor, as a family burial place and devoted to St. John the Baptist, it was immediately elevated to the rank of collegiate church, housing a chapter of five, then twelve, canons. Imbert de Batarnay died before construction was completed, but his body was finally interred some time later. From 1700, with the creation of the parish of Montrésor, it took on the function of parish church. At the time of the French Revolution, when the chapter of canons had been greatly reduced over the previous century, the last canons dispersed, but the church retained its parish function, which continues into the 21st century, despite being looted and seriously damaged in 1793.
The church has a rather original Lorraine cross plan. While its architecture reflects the late Gothic period, its interior and exterior decoration bear the imprint of the early French Renaissance. The church has undergone many restorations and repairs, notably in the second half of the 19th century, under the impetus of the Branicki family, and especially of Xavier Branicki, mayor of Montrésor from 1860 to 1870 and generous patron of the community. The restoration of the Batarnay tomb is one of the most symbolic interventions of this period, as is the interior decoration of the church, featuring paintings from the Italian Renaissance and classical schools.
The church is listed as a historic monument in 1840, and contains nineteen objects listed in the Palissy database of movable property protected by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication.
Location
Located within the commune of Montrésor, some fifteen kilometers east of Loches, not far from the Indre-et-Loire - Indre border, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montrésor church lies to the east of the château de Montrésor and to the northeast of the urban core it preceded, on the hillside of the right bank of a meander of the Indrois river; it is sustained by a terrace artificially leveled at an altitude of 100 m, ten meters above river level, slightly below the château (106 m). Breaking with the usual orientation of Christian religious buildings, its main portal faces north-west, and its apse points south-east."Carte topographique du château de Montrésor archive" on Géoportail (accessed May 26, 2015).
Until the 19th century, when it was filled in, an artificial moat dug into the plateau in medieval times protected the site on which the château and collegiate church stood to the north.(fr) Abbé Louis-Auguste Bossebœuf (pref. abbé Émile le Pironnec), De l'Indre à l'Indrois : Montrésor, le château, la collégiale, et ses environs : Beaulieu-Lès-Loches, Saint-Jean le Liget et la Corroirie, Res Universis, coll. "Monographie des villes et villages de France", 1897 (repr. 1993), 103 p. . p. 69. Two drawbridges, one of which was later replaced by a ramp and the other by a fixed bridge (Pont Bouvet), gave the squires direct access to the collegiate church by crossing the castle moat on what is now Rue Potocki.(fr) Frédéric Gaultier and Michaël Beigneux, Montrésor se raconte, Montrésor, Association Montrésor se raconte, 2002, 169 p. . p. 40.
History
From the foundation to the seventeenth century
Around 1520, Imbert de Batarnay, lord of Bridoré and Montrésor, had the idea of founding a collegiate church in which he and his family would be buried. His first choice was Bridoré, where he owned a medieval fortress,(fr) "Château de Bridoré, base Mérimée" archive, notice no. PA00097602. and the project moved forward as early as March 1519.(fr) Abbé Louis-Auguste Bossebœuf (pref. abbé Émile le Pironnec), De l'Indre à l'Indrois : Montrésor, le château, la collégiale, et ses environs : Beaulieu-Lès-Loches, Saint-Jean le Liget et la Corroirie, Res Universis, coll. "Monographie des villes et villages de France", 1897 (repr. 1993), 103 p. . p. 59. However, in 1521, for unknown reasons, Imbert de Batarnay changed his mind and decided that the foundation would ultimately take place in Montrésor, not far from his Renaissance dwelling, as the 13th-century castral chapel was probably too cramped; construction began in March 1522.(fr) Jean Vallery-Radot, Actes du congrès archéologique de Tours, CVIe session (collective work), Tours, 1940, "L'ancienne collégiale de Montrésor", p. 195. Imbert de Batarnay endowed the collegiate church with "a college of five prebendal canons required to sing a daily high mass and canonical hours, with two young children instructed in reading and singing";(fr) "Inventaire sommaire de la série G - clergé séculier (supplément)" archive [PDF], on the website of the archives of the Indre-et-Loire department, Indre-et-Loire Departmental Council, 2008 (accessed May 15, 2015), p. 11, call number G 1167. the number of canons was soon increased to twelve.(fr) Bernard Briais (ill. Denise Labouyrie), Vagabondages en Val d'Indrois, Monts, Séria, 2001, 127 p. (ISSN 1151-3012), p. 38. Imbert de Batarnay died in 1523. Since the church under construction was not yet suitable for his burial, he was buried in the château chapel before his body was relocated to the choir of the new collegiate church; the date of the transfer of his ashes is unknown.(fr) Abbé Louis-Auguste Bossebœuf (pref. abbé Émile le Pironnec), De l'Indre à l'Indrois : Montrésor, le château, la collégiale, et ses environs : Beaulieu-Lès-Loches, Saint-Jean le Liget et la Corroirie, Res Universis, coll. "Monographie des villes et villages de France", 1897 (repr. 1993), 103 p. . p. 63. The church was consecrated on December 10, 1532(fr) Jacques-Xavier Carré de Busserolle, Dictionnaire géographique, historique et biographique d'Indre-et-Loire et de l'ancienne province de Touraine, t. IV, Société archéologique de Touraine, 1882, 430 p. (read online archive), p. 318. by Archbishop Antoine de Bar, after completion of the structural work, but the work was not completed until 1541.(fr) Jean-Mary Couderc (dir.), Dictionnaire des communes de Touraine, Chambray-lès-Tours, C.L.D., 1987, 967 pp. , p. 551. Work soon resumed, however, given that around 1550, at the instigation of René de Batarnay, Imbert's son, a chapel was built against the south side of the choir. It was dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, in homage to the Basilica della Santa Casa, in the Italian province of Ancona, whose pilgrimages were renowned at the time.(fr) Abbé Buchet, Le château et l'église collégiale de Montrésor, Tours, Paul Bouserez, 1876, p. 33.
There seems to be no record of any damage caused to the newly built collegiate church during the Wars of Religion.
As early as 1680, the number of canons was reduced to four, in response to the collegiate church's low revenues;(fr) Abbé Buchet, Le château et l'église collégiale de Montrésor, Tours, Paul Bouserez, 1876, p. 24. at the same time, in 1683, Isabeau de Savoie, daughter-in-law of Imbert de Batarnay, extended the possibility of burial in the collegiate church to all inhabitants of Montrésor, "on condition that the income from such burial be used for repairs to the said church".(fr) "Inventaire sommaire de la série G - clergé séculier (supplément)" archive [PDF], 2008 (accessed July 20, 2015), p. 11, call number G 1167. In 1700, the parish of Montrésor was created at the expense of Beaumont-Village, and the collegiate church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste became the parish place of worship.(fr) Bernard Briais (ill. Denise Labouyrie), Vagabondages en Val d'Indrois, Monts, Séria, 2001, 127 p. (ISSN 1151-3012), p. 33.
The eighteenth century and the French Revolution Towards the mid-18th century, various works were carried out on the church, including two repairs to the bell tower and the removal of certain altars.(fr) Jacques-Xavier Carré de Busserolle, Dictionnaire géographique, historique et biographique d'Indre-et-Loire et de l'ancienne province de Touraine, t. IV, Société archéologique de Touraine, 1882, 430 p. (read online archive), p. 319.
In 1789, with the French Revolution, the chapter of canons was dissolved and the church was placed in the hands of the Nation in application of the decree of November 2, 1789. The events that took place in Montrésor during the revolutionary period are poorly documented,(fr) Frédéric Gaultier and Michaël Beigneux, Montrésor se raconte, Montrésor, Association Montrésor se raconte, 2002, 169 p. . p. 64. but in 1793, the church suffered a great deal of damage: the Batarnay tomb was dismantled, but some of the fragments were left in situ,Vincent 1931, p. 35. the stained-glass windows were badly damaged and both the exterior and interior statues were destroyed or mutilated; two of the four bells disappeared.(fr) Abbé Buchet, Le château et l'église collégiale de Montrésor, Tours, Paul Bouserez, 1876, p. 34. The church resumed its parish function at the end of the French Revolution; from then on, the former Notre-Dame-de-Lorette chapel was used as the sacristy.
From the Great Restoration of the 19th century to the present day
The church was listed as a protected historic monument in 1840, but in 1853, the mayor of Montrésor wrote to the prefect expressing concern about the building's state of disrepair;(fr) Frédéric Gaultier and Michaël Beigneux, Montrésor se raconte, Montrésor, Association Montrésor se raconte, 2002, 169 p. . p. 60. in the same year, the Société archéologique de Touraine sent a commission to investigate the state of the Batarnay tomb, which had been demolished but with most of its more or less damaged parts stored in the church.(fr) Charles Guyot, "Rapport sur le tombeau des Bastarnay à Montrésor", bulletin de la Société archéologique de Touraine, t. I, 1868-1870, p. 187-193 (read online archive). Major restoration work, largely financed by Count Branicki, took place in the second half of the 19th century. The bell tower, in poor condition, was dismantled in 1861; its reconstruction, temporarily interrupted in 1869, was completed in 1875. Architect Roguet oversaw the reconstruction, and a model of the new bell tower is on display at Château de Montrésor. In 1867–69, the church was rebuilt with new roofing and roof timbers. The Batarnay tomb was restored and reassembled in the north-west corner of the nave in 1875, at the same time as a previously walled-up window was opened at the end of the nave, above the portal, to illuminate the tomb.(fr) Jean Vallery-Radot, Actes du congrès archéologique de Tours, CVIe session (collective work), Tours, 1940, "L'ancienne collégiale de Montrésor", p. 196. The stained-glass window was rebuilt from elements of an earlier stained-glass window destroyed in 1793.(fr) Abbé Louis-Auguste Bossebœuf (pref. abbé Émile le Pironnec), De l'Indre à l'Indrois : Montrésor, le château, la collégiale, et ses environs : Beaulieu-Lès-Loches, Saint-Jean le Liget et la Corroirie, Res Universis, coll. "Monographie des villes et villages de France", 1897 (repr. 1993), 103 p. . p. 83. In 1877, worship returned to the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette chapel, while a small sacristy was built to the north of the choir. In 1883, the southern arm of the transept was restored and furnished from the abandoned Saint-Roch chapel, Montrésor's previous religious building;(fr) Abbé Louis-Auguste Bossebœuf (pref. abbé Émile le Pironnec), De l'Indre à l'Indrois : Montrésor, le château, la collégiale, et ses environs : Beaulieu-Lès-Loches, Saint-Jean le Liget et la Corroirie, Res Universis, coll. "Monographie des villes et villages de France", 1897 (repr. 1993), 103 p. . p. 86. the southern arm of the church's transept was renamed the "Saint-Roch chapel", while the chapel in the northern arm was consecrated to the Virgin.