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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame de la Vieuville Abbey, located between Epiniac and Baguer-Pican in Ille-et-Vilaine, was founded around 1137 as an outbuilding of Savigny Abbey. She became Cistercian in 1147 when Savigny joined Cîteaux. The current remains include a vaulted 12th century hall, 17th and 18th century convent buildings, and traces of a cloister and church destroyed after the Revolution. The abbey, which counted forty-five abbots until 1790, was a burial place for the lords of Combourg and Landal, although their girders had disappeared.

The abbey was founded with the support of Geoffroy de la Chapelle and Gilduin, lord of Dol, who gave land to the monks of Savigny. In 1147 Manasser and Guillaume de Meillac, together with their sister Dameta, added the chapel and the fief of Nazareth. Pope Alexander III later intervened to settle a dispute between the monks and private individuals of Bagar-Pican. The buildings, rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries, were partially preserved, but the church and cloister were destroyed at the end of the 18th century.

Today, the abbey has been protected as historical monuments since 2002. The remaining elements include a western wing with 17th and 18th century decorations, a vaulted room of the 12th century, and remains of the cellar. The site also preserves traces of its agricultural past, such as the old orchard. The painter Valentin Louis Doutreleau immortalized the abbey in several of his works, testifying to its cultural importance.

The coat of arms of the abbey, silver spread apart from a net of sand to a tower of Gules in each neighbourhood, recall its status as a seigneurial foundation. Among the associated fiefs, that of the Court Ring was given to the abbey in 1252 by Geoffroy de Porcon, then confirmed in 1294 by his widow Havoise and their children. These donations reflect the economic and religious influence of the abbey in the region.

The Abbey was a major spiritual and economic centre, managing lands, mills, and rights of use in the surrounding woods. His decline began with the French Revolution, which ended his monastic activity in 1790 with the removal of the last abbot, Jean-Baptiste de la Bintinaye. The current ruins offer an overview of its Cistercian architecture and its evolution throughout the centuries.

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