Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Notre-Dame d'Yerres Abbey was founded between 1124 and 1132 by Eustachie de Corbeil, daughter of Ferry de Châtillon, to welcome Benedictine nuns in transit, often expelled from other monasteries such as that of Argenteuil led by Heloïse. Established at the confluence of the Reveillon and the Yerres, 15 km south of Paris, it initially depended on the diocese of Sens before passing under that of Paris in 1622. Étienne de Senlis, bishop of the time, gave him tithes and churches, while Guillaume I Le Loup, bottler of France, became a benefactor.

In the 12th century, the abbey received significant donations, such as half the tithe of Villabé or land in Oysonville. Around 1280, a Parisian house, the house of the Pius, was acquired to house the nuns. The financial vicissitudes of the 17th and 18th centuries led to the deterioration of buildings. In 1695, the hermitage of Notre-Dame-de-Consolation in the forest of Senart was attached to the abbey. The French Revolution marked a turning point: the Benedictines were expelled in 1792, some of the buildings destroyed in 1793, and the rest sold as national property.

In the 19th century, a wool factory occupied the premises until the mid-20th century. Repurchased in 1971 by Paul Chaslin, a former resistant and industrialist, temporarily saved the building, before its abandonment in the 1980s. Thanks to the action of local associations such as Sahavy and despite the municipal opposition, the Abbey was included in the additional inventory of historical monuments in 1996. A partial restoration in 2008-2009 allowed its conversion into housing, combining heritage preservation and contemporary use.

Today, only the dormitory of the 16th century and the buildings of the pharmacy and abbesse of the 18th century remain, the latter integrating 16th century structures. The Abbey thus illustrates nearly nine centuries of history, between Benedictine spirituality, revolutionary upheavals and industrial conversions.

Among the notable figures, Anne Brûlart, a 16th century nun, belonged to an influential family: her sisters were nuns at Montmartre and the Daughters-Dieu of Paris, while her brothers were monks at Saint-Denis. Their father, Peter II Brûlart, was king's adviser to the Paris Parliament. The abbesses, numbering forty-five until the Revolution, led an austere life, with strict food rules, such as the exceptional authorization to consume eggs on certain dates.

The properties of the abbey included lands in Bourg-la-Reine, Briis-sous-Forges, and tithe rights in Varennes. The fief of Bourg-la-Reine, acquired by exchange with Louis VI le Gros in 1132, bears witness to its economic importance. Despite the pillages and fires of the 20th century, citizen mobilization saved this rare heritage in Île-de-France.

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