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Origin and history

The former Priory of Saint Arnoult, also known as Priory of Saint Arnoul-sur-Touque, is a major religious monument of Calvados, dated between the 11th and 17th centuries. Founded in 1061 by the order of Cluny and dependent on the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Longpont, it is attested as early as 1152 in a cartular. The site, located on the left bank of the Touques River, includes a Romanesque Prioral Chapel and a pre-existing parish church, probably as early as the 10th century. Its complex architecture, with a low-pitched vaulted crypt (rare in Normandy) and opus spicatum walls, reflects successive developments in the 12th, 13th, 15th and 17th centuries.

The priory experienced several phases of transformation: the tower of the bell tower, which was originally built in the 10th century, was raised in the 12th–13th centuries, while a funeral chapel was added to the north in the 14th–15th centuries. The nave was enlarged in the 15th century, and a west porch was created in the 17th–15th centuries. Abandoned after the Revolution, the building, already degraded in the 18th century, is sold as a national property. In 1843 Jean-Charles Langlois acquired the remains, which became a romantic ruin. The crypt, partially masked by 19th-century embankments, served as an ossuary, as reported by Arcisse de Caumont.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1970, the priory has been the subject of rehabilitation projects since the 2000s, carried by the municipality and the association Les Amis du Prieuré de Saint Arnoul sur Touque. An archaeological study (2010–2011) revealed murals and traces of a 13th century fire. The nearby sources, dedicated to Saint Arnoul and Saint Clair, were renowned for their therapeutic virtues until the 1960s. Today, the site combines medieval heritage and cultural preservation issues.

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