Eglise Saint-Jacques et Saint-Christophe

Montagny, which used to depend on Montjavoult, was only established as an independent parish in 1788 by the Cardinal de la Rochefoucault. Originally, its only patron saint was Saint Christophe, the name Saint Jacques having been added to it to keep the memory of the vanished chapel of the castle. It is a homogeneous building of the 16th century, very simple but carefully built, composed of a single nave of five bays that ends with a pentagonal apse. The vaults, which all have a small ornate keystone, are formed by ogives with a prismatic profile falling by direct penetration on pilasters in strong projection. The windows are either simple semicircular openings or with a mixture of semicircular and flamboyant forms. The bellows of two of them have kept elements of 16th century stained glass, the quality of which makes us regret the disappearance of most of the windows. On the outside, the most interesting part is without a doubt the façade, crowned by a small bell tower of extreme elegance and which belongs fully to the Renaissance style. It is not impossible that it was added shortly after the completion of the church. The second floor, square, is simply pierced on each side by a small semicircular bay decorated with a scallop shell at the top. The second floor consists of a tiny octagonal lantern topped by a circular pyramid. The edges are underlined by pilasters crowned with Ionic capitals. The church preserves important fragments of a very beautiful 16th century stone altarpiece representing the Passion of Christ. Dominique Vermand