Barret - Saint-Pardoux

Saint-Pardoux was erected in the second half of the 12th century as a church for a priory, dependent from the Benedictine Abbey Saint-Étienne in Baignes.

The single-nave church got enlarged later and restored/rebuilt in the 19th century. It is claimed, that the facade is inspired by the construction of the cathedral of Angouleme. I do not see a strong influence. The blueprint of the facade is the "triumph arch". hundreds of churches in the Saintongue have a similar portal. The carvings of the facade are very elaborate and come from a very skilled workshop.

Only these two small creatures, hidden in the cornerstones, differ clearly. Both carvings seem a bit dilettante, like graffiti. But as the two stones with these clumsy carvings were used here, the local peasants will have known, what they stood for.