Gimme shelter

Some time ago I read in the local newspaper that an old run down chapel in Verchizeuil, a hamlet of Verzé, was in such a bad state that the local pompiers had decided to cover the chapel with tarpaulins in order to protect the inside from the elements.

Chapelle Saint-Criat in Verchizeuil

I had never heard of the hamlet, let alone of the chapel, but one day, looking for something completely different, we drove through Verchizeuil; the place name triggered off remembering this newspaper article. Almost immediately after entering the village we saw a sign saying "Chapelle Saint-Criat" to the right, and we decided to follow the sign posted path on the edge of the forest. The path continued, became muddier and muddier, the slopes up and down became steeper and steeper, but we carried on as good as we could. After having plodded about a kilometre through mud and huge puddles we ended up at the foot of a hill. we left the car there, and struggled up hill on foot. The map shows clearly where the chapel is.

Apse of the Chapelle Saint-Criat in Verchizeuil

From Verchizeuil a path runs along the edge of the forest to the south-west. Just after the path starts running through the fields, it makes a bend to the right. At the end of the bend lies the chapel. Depending on the settings in Google maps (one can switch the option "labels" on) the chapel (at this moment -2013- on Google maps still without cover) is clearly indicated. The picture dates from before the action of the pompiers.
There is not much to tell about the chapel itself. People have started to install roof trusses, and most likely they are waiting for a truck load of subsidy to be able to buy roof tiles.
The chapel goes most likely back to the 11th century, and it was originally dedicated to Saint-Martin. The rather strange present name is possibly a corruption of the name it received then: Saint-Christ. The chapel has ever been a place of pilgrimage for mothers with children suffering from rachitis (rickets). The remedy was : scrape some stone from the altar and mix it through the children's food. Mothers and children were complaining bitterly and loudly (crier in French, present participle criant) about the pain they were suffering from, and slowly the name of the chapel changed from Saint-Christ to Saint-Chriat. Apart from this story there is not much to tell about this beautifully located but dilapidated chapel...

Practical information (courtesy of Eduard van Boxtel) :
Former chapel Saint-Criat in Verchizeuil (Verzé), 11th century, 1*

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Interior van de Chapelle Saint-Criat in Verchizeuil