Église Saint-Martin d'Esnandes, Fortified church in Esnandes, Charente-Maritime, France

Saint-Martin Church in Esnandes is a fortified church whose walls, doubled and sometimes tripled in thickness to between 1.85 and 3 metres, carry a crenellated walkway. Its light grey stone facade has a large central pointed-arch window with tracery between two smaller pointed-arch windows, all with dark glass and metal grilles, and a square tower with a tiled roof and cross rises on the left.

The church first appears in written records in 990 when it was mentioned in a charter of Saint-Cyprien Abbey in Poitiers. During the Hundred Years War, the building was transformed into a fortress to defend against coastal attacks.

The church keeps classified 18th-century furnishings, including a carved pulpit dated 1775. Its bell tower was rebuilt in 1633, as a cartouche on it records, and its timber frame was made from wood salvaged from shipwrecks. From the wall-walk visitors look out over the Aiguillon bay, the Marais poitevin and the village.

The church is open to visitors, and the walkway along the top of the ramparts gives a panoramic view over the Aiguillon bay, the Poitevin marsh and the village. The walls, thickened to between 1.85 and 3 metres during the 14th-century fortification, make the interior cool; the 1775 pulpit and the 18th-century furnishings are inside.

The bell tower standing today was rebuilt in 1633 and incorporates wood from shipwrecks found along the coast into its framework. This unusual material reflects the close connection between the village and the sea.