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Origin and history

The abbey of Notre-Dame de la Pelice, located at the place called La Plisse on the commune of Cherreau (Sarthe), was founded in 1170 by Bernard III de La Ferté and his wife Isabelle de Vieuxpont-Courville on the banks of the Huisne. Although the endowment of the monastery was settled from its foundation, the official act was not drafted until 1205 in Le Mans. The abbey, dependent on the abbey of Tiron, had priories and appointment to several nearby parishes, but its decline was accelerated by the regime of commende.

The chapel of the Virgin (or the Rosary) and the northern wing of the cloister, built at the end of the twelfth century, have now disappeared. In the 17th century, an isolated building was erected for Abbé Nicolas-François Brûlart de Sillery (1666), while in 1778 Abbé Pierre Lefranc des Fontaines had the abbey house rebuilt to the detriment of the southern cloister. This house, of square plan with a rectangular dome, has been listed as historical monuments since 1986 and remains a private property.

The abbey housed the graves of the former Counts of Bellême and possessed priories such as Saint-Blaise-des-Vignes or Saint-Leu-et-Saint-Gilles de Contre. In the 18th century, agricultural buildings were supported by the nave of the abbey church. Several trading abbots marked his history, including John IV Jouvenel des Ursins (1550), confronted with the refusal of payment of tithes, or Leonore d'Estampes de Valençay (1620-1651), also Archbishop of Reims.

The gradual ruin of the abbey was linked to the beginning: the monarchy was gathered at the seminary-hospital of Saint-Charles du Mans, despite the protests of the administration of La Ferté. The archives were lost after the Revolution, especially when Abbé Desfontaines left in 1789. Today, only the abbatial home and the 18th century commons remain partially.

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