Le Douhet - Saint-Martial

San Martial, parish church of Le Douhet is a 12th century structure, that had to be stabilized by buttresses within the 15th century, when a steeple was built and the building got unbalanced and unstable.

The portal, erected in the typical Saintonge-style, is richly decorated. Here is a corbel, depicting the "Descent from the Cross".

John 19:38

"After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body."


The stones, used in medieval times all over the Saintonge, were very soft and so ideal for complex carvings. Unfortunately they weathered over the centuries.