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Origin and history

Saint-Pierre and Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Châtillon-lès-Conches Abbey, located in Conches-en-Ouche, Eure, was founded in 1035 by Roger Ier de Tosny. This Benedictine monastery welcomed monks from the Abbey of Fécamp, including Gislebert, his first abbot. Thanks to gifts, she acquired priories in England, such as those of Wotton and Horsham, and housed the relics of St.Maux and St.Venerand. Ravaged during the Hundred Years' War, it was reformed by the Maurists in the 17th century.

In 1480, part of the relics of Saint Venerand was offered to the Count of Laval, who kept them in his castle of Acquigny and then at the church of Saint-Vénérand de Laval. In 1515, Abbé Nicolas Le Vavasseur ordered a compilation of the abbey's property. At the Revolution, Turreau's infernal columns destroyed a large part of the buildings, including the 90-metre-long abbey. Only the old hotel, the press, the cellars and part of the enclosure remain today.

In the 21st century, the site houses a FabLab and a health centre after hosting a hospital and then a retirement home. The remains, protected since 2002, also house the collections of the glass museum. The Abbey thus illustrates a thousand-year history, between medieval spirituality, monastic reforms and contemporary reuse.

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