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Origin and history

Beaugerais Abbey, also known as Baugerais Abbey, is a former Cistercian abbey located in Loché-sur-Indrois, Indre-et-Loire. Founded around the middle of the 12th century by a hermit named Serlon and his companions, it settles on the edge of the forest of Loches, near a pilgrimage path to Santiago de Compostela. In 1153, local knights, including Renaud de Sennevières and Guillaume de Montrésor, as well as notables, confirmed his foundation with donations before their departure for the second crusade. Initially supported by Augustinians of the Abbey of Sainte-Barbe-en-Auge (Calvados), it was quickly placed under the supervision of the Cistercians of the Abbey of Louroux between 1177 and 1189, marking a refoundation under the order of Cîteaux.

In the 13th century, the abbey enjoyed a period of prosperity thanks to the donations of local lords and the acquisition of lands extending to Berry. However, its geographical location, surrounded by other monastic establishments such as the Landais Abbey or the Liget Chartreuse, limits its territorial expansion. As early as the 14th century, difficulties accumulated: the Hundred Years' War led to looting, partial destruction of buildings, and a drastic decline in incomes. The abbey must even participate financially in the war effort, and the monks take temporary refuge in Beaulieu-lès-Loches. In 1333 it was one of the poorest Cistercian abbeys in France, with annual revenues of only a hundred sous.

In the 15th century, Beaugerais' financial situation remained critical, despite royal authorization of 1438 to build fortifications (the execution of which was not attested). The first abbey, disused between the 14th and 15th centuries, is transformed into a domestic space, while a second abbey, built on a cross according to the Cistercian cannons, replaces it partially. In the 17th century, under the abbatiate of Michel de Marolles (named in 1609), the abbey experienced an architectural suspension with the reconstruction of some buildings, but the number of monks decreased inexorably, from six or seven in the 17th century to only two in the Revolution. Sold as a national property in 1792, it was largely destroyed before 1800, leaving only the nave of the first abbey and the remains of the cloister.

Beaugerais Abbey illustrates the challenges of rural monastic settlements, torn between initial prosperity and progressive decline. Its architecture, though fragmentary, reveals a nave of the 12th or 13th century with an angeline Gothic vaults, a rarity for a Cistercian abbey. The excavations and studies carried out in the 20th century, notably by Michel Bourderioux and Franck Tournadre, allowed to clarify its history and its spatial organization, despite the absence of old plans. Today, the remains of historical monuments since 1938 recall its modest but significant role in the religious and economic landscape of the medieval and modern Touraine.

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