Church of Saint-Martin
The Church of St-Martin was built in Glénay in the 11th century because of its strategic location, leading to it being fortified in the 14th century. The church presents a simple plan: a vaulted nave from the late nineteenth century, a choir with a circular apse, an absidiole (sacristy), a chapel and a belfry. Strangely, although the church is dedicated to St Martin, it does not offer a representation of the saint but of one of his contemporaries: St Hilaire de Poitiers.
About this building
The Church of St. Martin was built in Poitou-Charentes, Glénay, during the eleventh century. Because of its strategic location, it was fortified in the fourteenth century at the time of the Hundred Years War. A dungeon tower was added and an underground refuge dug to allow villagers to hide during periods of unrest and looting.
From the 15th century to the present day, the church was enlarged, restored and transformed. The church is mainly built from Aubiers granite with some parts in white limestone, not local to region. It presents a simple plan: a vaulted nave (nineteenth century) extended by a circular apse choir. Then there is an absidiole (sacristy), a chapel and a bell tower. The low roof of the choir reveals a gable intended for a bell before the construction of the belfry. The entrance opens onto the steeple by three round arches resting on a historiated capital. You can see an owl, a siren and leafy tracery.
Strangely, although the church is dedicated to St Martin, it does not have a representation of the Saint but instead one of his contemporaries: St Hilary of Poitiers (XVIIe S.). Many painted plaster statues from the nineteenth century bear witness to the religious devotion of that time. The oldest stained-glass windows date from the 19th century, while the most recent, set in concrete, are from the 1960s. The building also contains baptismal fonts (60s), various altars, a Stations of the Cross and a bas-relief in color in memory of the deaths of the last two wars.
