Église Saint-Hilaire (ancienne)

About

The Saint-Hilaire church of Agen, also known as the White Penitents Tower, located on Georges-Thomas Street, is a building dating from the 11th century today in ruins.

The Romanesque church of the 12th century: Originally, church has only one nave extended by a narrower choir. A stone bell tower overlaid the separation pinion wall between the nave and the apse completed the construction. The hemicycle-shaped apse was decorated with sculptures to date the construction of the building at the earliest in the 11th century or the first half of the 12th century.

Expansion of the 13th century: At the beginning of the 13th century, the church was enlarged with the addition of two collaterals and two arched apsidioles in cul-de-four. The walls of the collaterals are mounted to allow the support of a single roof for the entire building.

The bell tower: At an undefined time but at the earliest contemporary of the enlargement the bell tower-wall is integrated to the west face of the hexagonal brick tower constituting the Gothic bell tower of the church.