Église de Castelnau de Mandailles
The castle of Castelnau was fully renovated in the 16th century. A lordly chapel was erected at the time, within the exterior fortifications adjacent to the old watchtower.
The modesty of the chapel (8m X 6m) reminds us of a place of prayer reserved for the devotion of the noble ladies and families regularly residing in the castle. The overall architecture of this chapel already shows a certain elegance in the vaulting of the ridge in the pure regional style of Romanesque art. A place of worship, but also of defence, the chapel is protected by a very close archway, located below the windows, in the very corner of the tower.
The assiduous attendance of the Castelnovians at the religious services held in the seigneurial chapel made it necessary to enlarge the place in 1617. The chapel of Castelnau is an annex of the parish of Le Cambon.
Vicariate chapel until 1630, the church of Castelnau becomes a parish and separates from the priory of Cambon. It is dedicated to Saint-Thomas Becket de Cantorbery.
Knowing an important demographic growth, the church undergoes a new transformation which ends in 1813.
At the end of the 19th century, the sacristy, which was unhealthy and insufficient, was enlarged. The presbytery was restored in 1923.
In 1927, the church was enlarged again and the stands, which had become dangerous, were removed. The Romanesque portal is rehabilitated and is today surmounted by a superb stained glass window representing an angel with outstretched wings supporting a dying hairy man from the First World War. The work dates from 1926.
The last restoration started in the autumn of 1982 and was completed at the end of March 1983.