The Chapel of Saint-Libert was a former Romanesque church dating from the 12th century. It was situated within the historic core of Tours, France. Its construction was partially influenced by the Gallo-Roman castrum along the Loire River, with which it shares a portion of the original rampart. The church's nave has been included in the supplementary inventory of historical monuments since December 2, 1946, at the initiative of the Archaeological Society of Touraine (SAT).
The church was decommissioned at the beginning of the 18th century. Subsequently, it was reconverted and disfigured by industrial and artisanal activity. In 2011, it was acquired by the SAT and rehabilitated following archaeological excavations. The rehabilitated church now serves as the SAT's headquarters, a reception and meeting space, and a venue for cultural events.
The edifice is situated at 37 Avenue André-Malraux, at the intersection of Rue de la Bretonnerie, close to Rue Barbès (formerly Rue Saint-Libert). Additionally, within the city of Tours, there was a modern Saint-Libert chapel, constructed in 1980, designated for Catholic worship and located at 9 Rue du Clos-Saint-Libert.; However, this structure was scheduled for demolition in 2014 and, as such, should not be confused with the building mentioned above.
Description
The Romanesque building, constructed with meticulous precision, is reduced to its nave, as it lacks both a choir and a bell tower. The structure measures (likely originally, including the choir), in width, and in height before restoration (at least taller with the original ground level restored). This results in an interior space measuring approximately in length by in width. The walls, constructed from tuffeau stone, have an average thickness of one meter. The building is equipped with buttresses, though the church is not vaulted in stone. The chapel features a beautiful wooden framework, rebuilt in the fifteenth century, with rafters forming twenty-seven oak trusses that resemble an inverted "ship's hull." The roof is covered with slate tiles. Two pointed arch portals, one situated to the south (which remains inaccessible) and one to the west, provide access to the chapel. The presence of reinforcements on the latter suggests the existence of a porch and an accentuated gable serving as a bell tower unless the latter was demolished. The two lateral facades with eaves are bordered by a cornice under the roof, which features moldings and sculpted modillions. These elements are particularly noteworthy on the north side, where they include human heads, women, monstrous figures, and geometric and vegetal ornaments. The structure is pierced by three windows, which were restored on the north side during the renovation. The windows are semicircular arches, composed of seven voussoirs. The more opulent south facade, which also contains an ecclesiastical lavabo dating from the Romanesque period, currently opens onto a private garden. The northern portal is situated on a portion of the remains of the city's Gallo-Roman wall. The decoration of the choir, which may have been the site of the most artistic interest in the building, and the interior layout, except for the location of the altar, remain unknown. Currently, a contemporary administrative module serves as a choir, increasing the available space.
History The church is situated in the northeast corner of the former Gallo-Roman city walls, forming part of the castrum of the ancient city of "Caesarodunum," which is believed to have been the first settlement in Tours. In addition to the chapel's foundations, other remnants of these ancient Late Roman Empire fortifications can be found at the Château de Tours, the Musée des Beaux-Arts, and along the streets of Port Feu Hugon and Petit Cupidon. This chapel, which bears a misleading name given its original size, replaced an older church whose date of construction is not definitively known. It was erected on a site where it was previously unclear whether worship had already taken place. Despite the excavations and archaeological work conducted in the early 21st century, the history of this chapel remains obscure and uncertain.
The church attested in the 9th century At the time when Tours was still divided, a charter from 919 makes mention of a church on what is believed to be the current site. This charter refers to a land exchange that took place between 866 and 877 between the canons of Saint-Martin, who were mainly housed in the new western part of the city. The aforementioned charter refers to a plot of land located in the aforementioned part of the city, including a church, an enclosure wall, and a postern, which was transferred to the Count of Tours, Hugh the Abbot, for the benefit of the Count, covering approximately .
It is proposed that this property exchange, for which the deed is no longer extant, constituted the first chapel of the Counts of Tours, situated in the vicinity of the Tour Feu Hugon, which was likely their inaugural residence.This hypothesis is derived from the 919 text and an earlier one dated 869, in which King Charles the Bald, with the support of Pope Adrian, called upon the cities situated along the Loire to fortify themselves against the Vikings by constructing square towers. To illustrate: ; -
The available evidence is limited, but if we assume that this is the location of the current chapel, which is known to abut the Gallo-Roman wall of the ancient city, and that the monks owned the land supporting the chapel at this spot, which is far from Martinpôle (Châteauneuf), where the monks are normally established, we must consider the reasons for this. The answer may be found in Canon 8 of the council held in 465 in Vannes, on the occasion of the ordination of its bishop by the bishop of Tours, Perpetuus, when Tours was the archdiocese and the capital of the Third Lyonnaise province of Gaul. This 5th-century canonical provision permitted abbots, as an exception, to have a refuge within the city's walls due to Viking incursions. This refuge, where the monks would have erected a chapel or reinforced an existing one, would have been exchanged once the danger had passed, with the understanding that Hugues l'Abbé held both the title of Abbot of Saint-Martin and Count of Tours.
However, very little is known about the existing church attested in the 9th century, thus dating from the Carolingian period, possibly already dedicated to Libert, recognized as a saint by his contemporary Gregory of Tours in the 6th century. There is no certain information regarding its location or time, nor what possibly preceded it.
The available evidence does not provide any insight into the existence and date of a potential oratory refuge constructed during the Low Empire period (between the 5th and 6th centuries) by the monks of Saint-Martin and Marmoutier (where Libert is believed to have lived).Grégoire de Tours, who died in 594, mentions only three churches in the city: cathedral; Notre-Dame church; Saint-Gervais church - whose source could be: Additionally, there is a lack of information concerning the dedication of the site to Saint Libert, which could have occurred as early as the 7th century, or as late as the 9th or 12th centuries.The cult of this saint is thought to have originated soon after his death, probably in the 7th century, as evidenced by his mention in litanies and the Roman Martyrology. () Moreover, there is a dearth of information regarding the subsequent construction of the Carolingian church, which was documented during the period of the exchange (between the 8th and 9th centuries). Additionally, there is a paucity of evidence concerning the existence of Roman structures that may have preceded this period.
The current location of the chapel within the ancient city is a plausible hypothesis given its antiquity. However, no other evidence, beyond its encroachment on the Gallo-Roman wall, has been identified to confirm this presumption. Modern excavations have not yielded sufficient evidence to formally support the hypothesis, as they did not reveal significant remains of earlier constructions suggested by historians. Only some traces, later than expected, possibly dating to the end of the Carolingian period, have been found.
The current 12th-century church, preserved by its secular reconversion
A clear and direct reference to a place of worship dedicated to "Saint-Libert," also known as the "oratory of Saint-Léobard" (the Latin name for Libert), is only documented in the 12th century. This information was first reported by Jean Mann in the 17th century. He refers to a deed of sale from 1192, which specifies that the oratory had been established by the vendor's forebears. Given the Romanesque architectural style of the extant chapel, it can be reasonably inferred that this is the same edifice, which would have undergone reconstruction at some point between its initial construction and the present. This would situate its construction in approximately 1150. However, the original state of the building and its architectural history remain unknown.
It is known that the chapel was previously under the ownership of the Counts of Tours. However, it subsequently became part of the domain of the Kings of France, as evidenced by documents from the 14th, 17th, and 18th centuries.A record submitted to the King in 1394 makes mention of the Saint-Livart alms, while another record submitted in 1674 states that the Saint-Libert Church was under the King's authority due to his castle in Tours. The fief had been alienated by the Abbot of Preuilly. Nevertheless, its history was marked by turbulence. It was initially a dependency of the Abbey of Preuilly, which was then owned by laypeople. It was eventually given to the Oratorian priests at the beginning of the 17th century.In 1859, Alfred Giraud documented that the chapel was designated as a dependency of the cathedral, with an annual station made there every Friday before Palm Sunday. In 1705, it was deconsecrated and subsequently converted for private industrial use. Despite the damage caused, this conversion likely ensured its survival.
In the eighteenth century, up until the mid-nineteenth century, the chapel was utilized for the processing of saltpeter, including the extraction of tuffeau stone for the manufacture of gunpowder. During the reign of Louis XIV, Touraine was the second-largest supplier of the product in the kingdom. The chapel was initially sold to the Chaslon family, proprietors of France's most substantial saltpeter factory situated in the Touraine region, who also exploited the site. In 1788, the property was purchased from its previous owners by the Estevou family, who were also engaged in the manufacture of saltpeter. This occurred after the bankruptcy of the previous proprietors. In 1853, the property was acquired by Urbain Marnay, an artisan carpenter who utilized it as a wood warehouse. In 1875, the chapel was leased by his heirs to a soft drinks manufacturer, subsequently to a liqueur producer, and ultimately to a canned food factory, which purchased the property in 1922. It is also possible that the building was used for mushroom cultivation. From 1968 onwards, it was used as a garage and storage space. In 1980, it became the property of an architect, who sold it in 1989 to Henri Lhote, a grocer who used it as a warehouse.
The chapel, which has been obscured and altered by the construction of sheds and a separate dwelling on its forecourt since the nineteenth century, is in a state of disrepair. In May 2011, the SAT purchased the property for €180,000. This was a logical outcome for a building that the SAT had already identified in 1859 as one of the local heritage treasures to be preserved, and which had been listed as a historical monument in 1946. Currently, it is one of the few remaining Romanesque chapels in the Touraine region.
Clearing, excavations, and archaeological findings