Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The abbey of Montierneuf, founded around 1072 by the monks of the abbey of Vendôme, was a strategic priory-seigneurie in Saintonge maritime. This territory, rich in salt, trade and fishing, extended from the island of Oleron to the Sands of Olonne. Abbé Geoffroy de Vendôme played a key role in 1094 in saving the papacy, which allowed Urbain II to restore order in Saintonge at the Council of Saintes (1096), for the benefit of Vendôme. This context favoured the disappearance of the Old Châtelaillon and the founding of La Rochelle.

In the 12th century, the priory became a monarchic power center until 1540, under the authority of Vendôme. After 1539, Bertrand Daugeraud, seigneur of the place, had the monastery partially rebuilt, added a fortified enclosure (of which the entrance door remains) and built a pigeon-house of 3,500 bolts, classified in 1951. The monks of the congregation of Saint-Maur, who arrived in the seventeenth century, failed to restore its prosperity in the past to the site.

At the Revolution, the priory was sold in three lots, and its buildings gradually disappeared. The house of the 12th century, remodeled in the 16th century, preserves a rectangular body flanked by a polygonal tower housing a spiral staircase. The remains, including vaulted rooms, now form a private property. Between 1994 and 2013, a collaboration between the municipality and the owners allowed the rehabilitation of the pigeon house and tourist facilities (guided tours, shows), before the lease was broken for lack of maintenance.

Since 2013, access to the dovecote (celebrating its 500th anniversary) has remained tolerated, but a legal reorganization is under way to restore sustainable public access. The owners, despite the health and regulatory constraints, express their willingness to reopen the site under secure conditions. The gate (registered in 1941) and the remains of the Prioral (registered in 1989) recall the historic importance of this Saintonge monument.

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