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Origin and history

The Abbey of the Ladies of Tusson, founded in the 12th century by Robert d'Arbrissel, was a double priory of the order of Fontevraud, located in an isolated place of Charente. Its construction began in 1112 after conflicts with Nanteuil Abbey, resolved by the bishop of Poitiers. The church, vaulted with cupolas, was fortified during the Hundred Years War with a square tower with murderous crosses. The monastery, surrounded by walls from the 14th century, prospered thanks to the rents and tithes received on its lands.

In the 16th century, Marguerite de Navarre, sister of Francis I, retired there in 1547 for four months, composing poems like Le Navire and Les Prisons. These manuscripts, rediscovered in 1895 at the BnF, testify to his literary activity during this stay. The priory also experienced a major conflict in the 17th century: the abbess of Fontevraud, Louise de Bourbon, tried to impose a prioress on Tusson, in violation of the statutes of order. The nuns, supported by Parliament, won in 1637.

The site had a sophisticated hydraulic system, supplying both priories with water via underground canals. After the Revolution, the abbey became a national good: the church and the convent buildings were demolished, leaving only the prioral house and remains like the fortified tower and an ogival pillar of the thirteenth century. These ruins, classified as historical monuments in 1952 and 2016, recall the architectural and spiritual importance of the place.

The convent of men, partially restored between 2000 and 2012, now houses a rural gite. The Lady's, private property, remains closed to the public. The hydraulic network, looted after 1789 for its lead pipes, illustrates the ingenuity of the cast iron makers. The priory thus symbolizes both medieval monastic power and revolutionary upheavals.

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