Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The abbey of Notre-Dame-du-Vœu, known as the abbey of Valasse, was founded around 1150 by Galéran IV de Meulan, Count of Meulan, returning from crusade. In 1149, his boat, caught in a storm, urged him to make the vow to build an abbey of white monks in honour of Our Lady if he survived. The foundation was taken over by Mathilde the Emperor, who installed Cistercian monks in the Abbey of Mortemer. The Abbey was consecrated in 1181, and the whole was completed in 1218. The abbey suffered destruction during the Hundred Years War (XV century) and the Wars of Religion (1562), before being partially rebuilt between 1740 and 1744 by architect Defrance.

At the time of the French Revolution, the abbey, which had become a national one, was sold in 1792 to Jacques-François Begouën, a Havre shipowner. The latter had the abbey destroyed and the buildings transformed into a chestnut home with architect Pierre-Adrien Pâris. The estate then passed on to the Fauquet-Lemaître family (1831-1957), who installed a spinning and then an industrial dairy. Since 1985, the municipality of Gruchet-le-Valasse has owned it. The site housed a leisure park dedicated to sustainable development (2008-2012), before being freely open to the public in 2013 for visits, seminars and receptions.

Valasse Abbey is a remarkable example of architectural evolution, moving from a Cistercian monastery to a residential castle. Its buildings, organized around a large house body framed with two low wings, reflect the transformations of the 12th, 18th and 19th centuries. The park and gardens, accessible since 2013, recall its dual religious and aristocratic heritage. Since 1943, it has been a symbol of the Norman heritage, cited in the film Arsène Lupin.

Among the notable abbots were Richard de Blosseville (1174), first abbot from Mortemer, or François d'Argouges (1678), future bishop of Vannes. The 16th and 18th century work campaigns, conducted by local artisans such as Jean Regnault or Gaspar Laval, illustrate the economic and cultural importance of the abbey in the region. Its history also reflects the political and religious upheavals of Normandy, from crusades to revolution.

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