Church Saint Martin's day in Besson

A donation of September 20, 1077, of the bishop of Clermont, Durand, in Guillaume, prior of Saint-Pourçain on Sioule, makes appear Saint Martin's day de Besson among the possessions of the abbey of Tournus.

At the revolution, the church was put at the biddings and was bought by the marquis de Tilly, lord of Botz, in order to save it demolition.

It is a building of XIIème century to nave of four spans, sides, transept nonprojecting, apses and absidioles in hemicycle. Its construction was done in two times: chorus, arms of the transept and sides of the nave initially and the completion of the building in the second time.

Attached to the Romance period, the simplicity of the plan is to be noticed. The two successive falls of the bell-tower in 1620 and 1700 entrainé the disappearance of the vaults of origin to the exeption of part of that of the sides.

The stoup appears quite curious to me, surmounted about a head doubles… Besson, the twin?
Celà would come from the origin of the term of the village, of Latin “bisso”, twice.

The capitals are remarkable, with sheets of chestnut trees, oaks, houx… The tradition of the crowned trees remains.

There was still, at the XVIIème century, in Besson, a vault devoted to Notre-Dame de Cussierges. the virgin of majesty dates from XIIème century. She is in oak and measurement 80 cm. One still distinguishes from the traces of polychromy, but lma statue lost its hands and the child was not preserved. She is in particular collection.
One finds in Besson a megalithic presence with the dolmen of theInsane one.

In the southern absidiole, dedicated in Saint-Louis, a painting represents it.