Thuret - Saint-Bénilde

The former church of a priory, built from local limestone 1150/1170, got remodelled quite often over the centuries. This was done not only by architects, but as well by clerics. The church was dedicated to St. Genesius first, then to St. Limin, followed by Saint-Martin. Within the 19th century the dedication changed to Saint-Bonnet and just some decades ago to Saint-Bénilde, a saint born in Thuret in 1805.

The structure is a basilica, with transepts and three apses, what is very common in the area. Aymon Gilbert Mallay, the architect of the diocese, "over" renovated and restaurated the church in 1864, when he hightened the walls, enlarged the clerestory and created a new roof. Bernard Craplet ( "Auvergne romane") still laments this neo-romanesque impact.

It is a nice church actually, with really very interesting details, but the title "Le Vezelay de la Limagne", that I found printed in a local leaflet, is pretty ambitious. Well, way too ambitious.





Wikipedia offers a lot information on Saint-Bénilde:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9nilde_Roman%C3%A7on