The church of Saint-Amans de Tayrac was a dependency of the Saint Maurin abbey. In 1235, the bishop of Agen Raoul de Peyrines gave to the abbot of Saint-Maurin half the tithe collection of the parish of Tayrac. Two years later, the monks of Saint-Maurin bought the other half.
Come and immerse yourself in the 3D virtual visit of the church. An unforgettable experience! Launch the visit by clicking on the video Matterport.
The creation of this virtual tour was 100% financed by the Lot-et-Garonne 2022 Citizen’s Participatory Budget.
History
Over time, the church at Tayrac was transformed into a priory, but the priory disappeared over the course of the Hundred Years’ War and its assets reverted to the abbey. On 18th May 1571 the abbot of Saint-Maurin sold the priory house.
The original church at Tayrac was built by a Durfort. The Romanesque nave was constructed in the 12th century with a semi-domed apse, destroyed in the 16th century; it would have been fully vaulted. During the Hundred Years’ War the church was sacked in 1336 and burnt by the Black Prince (Edward, Prince of Wales) in 1356. It was again burnt in 1561 during the Wars of Religion.
Architecture
In the 16th century an ogival chevet, not very well attached to the nave, replaced the original apse. Again in the 16th century, two vaulted chapels were added, one to the north, the Gospel side, dedicated to St Anthony; the other to the south, the Epistle side, dedicated to St Catherine. The north chapel carried the arms of the lords of Tayrac, the du Sorbier family. The original buttresses disappeared during the construction of these chapels.
The rounded arched door between two pilasters (on the south wall of the nave) dates from either the 17th or the 18th century. The modern ogival doorway, set in the west wall, dates from the 19th century. The pointed wall belfry with two arched openings rises above the west porch.
The original church must have had a central tower (Ref: G).
