Église Notre-Dame de Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Gothic church in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, France.
Église Notre-Dame de Sainte-Foy-la-Grande is a Gothic church of light beige stone at the corner of rue de la République and rue des Frères-Reclus, its main entrance at 24 rue des Frères-Reclus. A tall central tower carries a clock face, twin louvered arched openings and a belfry stage, crowned by a slender stone spire with pinnacles added in 1871. To the right, the lower facade has a row of small blind arches, a rose window and two pointed openings.
A church stood here from the 13th century, built alongside the bastide founded in 1255; it was destroyed by Huguenots in 1561, leaving only the Romanesque facade, tower base and oratory. On 26 May 1622 Louis XIII attended mass among the ruins and gave money for rebuilding, carried out from 1622 to 1686 and consecrated by Jules Mascaron, bishop of Agen.
The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and belongs to the Agen diocese until 1802. A walnut pulpit carved with figures was noted during a 1759 visit by Pierre Andrault, prior of Blanquefort, who also recorded three paintings, including one of Notre-Dame de Pitié holding the dead Christ. A marble plaque placed in 1945 recounts a supposed Benedictine church of about 812.
The main entrance is at 24 rue des Frères-Reclus, a narrow street with no forecourt, so the facade is best seen from the corner with rue de la République; a second entrance opens at 41 rue de la République. The south and east sides are bordered by the pedestrian ruet Notre-Dame. The tower's stone spire, added in 1871, is visible above the surrounding rooftops.
A marble plaque placed inside in 1945 claims Benedictine monks from Conques founded a church here around 812, but the Musée du Pays foyen calls this account fanciful and dates the origin to 1076, when the monks of Conques received the manse of Venairol from the lords of Pineuilh.
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