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Origin and history

The Abbey of Saint George-du-Bois was founded between 532 and 543 by the Frankish King Childebert I and Queen Ultrogothe, who donated it to Bishop Innocent du Mans. Set in the forest of Gâtine, it was first a Benedictine monastery with 60 monks under Bishop Aiglibert, before falling into the hands of lay people in the eighth century. Destroyed by the Vikings in the 10th century, it was abandoned until its reoccupation around 1075-1085 by regular canons of Vendôme, marking the beginning of a period of prosperity.

In the 12th century, the abbey became a place of religious and political influence. Around 1100, it hosted negotiations between Hildebert de Lavardin (Bishop of Mans), Hamelin II de Montoire, and a monk of Vendôme. Although the bishop tried to link it to Marmoutier (Tours) to restore his discipline, the abbey retained its autonomy and extended its heritage thanks to donations, such as that of Count Bouchard IV of Vendôme in 1187. The capitular hall (11th century) and the abbey church (late XIIth century) illustrate this blissful era.

From the 14th century, the abbey gradually declined. Despite the work carried out by Louis de Bourbon-Vendôme (1508-1510) and the installation of a bell by Charles de Latousche (1515), it had only 11 religious in 1550, then a single monk in 1720. An attempt by the Premonstrés to revive him in 1726 failed: only four monks lived there in 1780. At the Revolution, the abbey was sold as a national property (1791) and transformed into a castle by the Marquis Jean-Sébastien de Querhoent-Montoire, who made it his residence until his death in 1821.

In the 19th century, the estate changed hands several times, from Querhoent-Montoire to the Valin families of Gestas and then Le Vassor of Yerville, before being acquired by Alfred Spoerry in 1924. The latter had the capitular hall and the chapel inscribed in the Historical Monuments (1939). In 1999, the abbey was bequeathed to the bishopric of Blois, who installed Benedictines in Flavigny (2001-2020). A fire in December 2022 severely damaged a wing, relaunching the debate on its future.

Architecturally, the abbey preserves a 12th century church with a unique nave, a transept and a semi-circular vaulted apse in an angeline Gothic style. The last building of the cloister (43 m long), integrated into the castle in the 19th century, houses the old chapter hall. Despite the destruction, these remains recall its spiritual and seigneurial role, between royal donations, religious conflicts and modern adaptations.

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