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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The abbey of Doue was founded in the 12th century by a community of regular canons, attached in 1162 to the order of the Premonstrated. It was enriched by donations in the 13th century, when the church was built (chœur au XIIe, nef et transept enlarged in the 13th century) and the convent buildings with cloister. The chapel of Sainte-Catherine, dated from the 14th century, completes the architectural complex, organized around a trapezoidal courtyard with capitular hall, terraced gardens and masonry pool.

During the Hundred Years' War, the abbey was looted in 1364 by the Seguin road of Badenfol. Later, during the Wars of Religion (1589), it was fortified by the Royalists and then taken by the Leaguers, suffering fire and partial abandonment. The 17th and 18th centuries saw attempts at restoration by the abbots, but the abbey, abolished in 1770, was sold as national property to Mathieu Bertrand, a merchant of Puy. The Bertrand family, then the Bayon de la Tour (from 1890), transformed the premises into a private dwelling in the 19th century, saving part of the ruins.

Today, the abbey is a private property partially classified or listed as historical monuments. The remains of the church (painted 16th-17th centuries, funerary slab), the chapel of Sainte-Catherine and the convent wings (capitular room, painted panelling) have been protected since 1990 and 1994. A global inscription in 2019 covers all buildings, gardens and hydraulic systems (livehouse, water source), reflecting its architectural and historical evolution.

Recent archaeological excavations and studies of the current building, conducted by the descendants of the owners, aim to preserve this heritage marked by conflicts, reconstructions and successive adaptations, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era.

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