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Former Abbey of Grace God à Benon en Charente-Maritime

Charente-Maritime

Former Abbey of Grace God

    L'Abbaye de Grâce Dieu
    17170 Benon
Private property; owned by a private company
Ancienne abbaye de la Grâce-Dieu
Ancienne abbaye de la Grâce-Dieu
Ancienne abbaye de la Grâce-Dieu
Crédit photo : Patrick Despoix - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1100
1200
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1135
Foundation of the Abbey
1574
Beginning of Commende
1791
Sale as a national good
XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles
Partial reconstruction
2025
First edition of an event
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Vestiges of the capitular hall; facades and roofs of the large building (Box F 48): inscription by decree of 5 March 1965; Large east-west oriented building; abbey house; dovecoier (cad. F 48, 336, 337): entry by order of 21 September 1990

Key figures

Aliénor d’Aquitaine - Patron Support for the foundation in 1135.
Louis VII - Patron Donor to the foundation.
Hugues Morisset - Abbreviated reconstructor Works in the 17th century.
Élie Chevrauld - Abbreviated reconstructor Works in the 17th century.
Thomas-Jean Main - Acquirer in 1791 Purchase as a national good.
Louis Godet - Owner in 1893 Mayor of Benon, Cognac Godet family.

Origin and history

The Abbey of Grace-God was founded in 1135 by the monks of Clairvaux, with the support of Alienor of Aquitaine and Louis VII. Sixteenth abbey-daughter of Clairvaux, it prospered thanks to the drying up of the marshes of Andilly and founded itself the abbey of Charon as well as the priories of the Nevoire and Rioux. His economic and religious influence declined after 1574 with the establishment of the commende regime, where outside abbots managed his property without investing in monastic life.

Destroyed in part during the wars of Religion (especially during the siege of La Rochelle), the abbey was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries under the impulse of Abbés Hugues Morisset and Élie Chevrauld. In 1723 only four monks remained there. Sold as national property in 1791 to Thomas-Jean Main, it then passed into the hands of the Godet family (linked to the cognac), then the Red Motte. Today, it belongs to the family of Villeneuve, which provides restoration and opens to events (marriages, seminars).

The abbey was famous for its medieval abbey church (41 m long) and a miraculous fountain, an annual pilgrimage site on 14 and 15 August. After the Revolution, the new church (built from 1773) was demolished. Today there remains a large house of the seventeenth century, remains of the capitular hall, a dovecote of 1720 and an abbey house of 1663. The site combines architectural heritage and Cistercian memory.

In 2025, the Abbey hosted the first edition of La Nuit du bien commun, co-founded by Pierre-Édouard Stérin. This place, marked by centuries of monastic history and reconstruction, illustrates the religious, political and social changes of France, from the medieval era to the present day.

External links