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Origin and history

The Abbey of the Woods, located in Notonville in Eure-et-Loir, has its origins at least from 1073, when Evrard, Viscount de Chartres, offered the Abbey of Marmoutier its local possessions. This Benedictine priory, built on the remains of a Carolingian residence, was fortified and enlarged over the centuries. The monks of Marmoutier developed an agricultural and religious estate, whose present vestiges date mainly from the 15th and 16th centuries, with a prioral house, a tidal barn, and an imposing dovecote bearing witness to the richness of the estate.

The site preserves a fortified 12th century portal, framed by two turrets pierced with murderers and equipped with a drawbridge trace, reflecting its defensive role. The house, dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries, has an inverted boat frame, characteristic of late medieval architecture. A chapel, now gone, once completed the whole. The priory was classified as a Historic Monument in 1988 for its remarkable elements: entrance poter, dovecote, facades, roofs of 15th century buildings, and wall of enclosure.

The abbey illustrates the influence of the monks of Marmoutier in Beauce, an area marked by agriculture and monastic networks. Its dovecote, whose number of nests was proportional to the extent of the land, symbolizes the economic power of the priory. The present remains, although partially altered, offer a rare testimony of the fortified priories of the region, linked to the feudal and religious history of the Centre-Val de Loire.

The estate was probably a tithe collection centre, as evidenced by the tithe barn. Its enclosure wall and defensive elements suggest a troubled period, requiring increased protection. Today, the abbey, although deprived of its original floors, retains fireplaces, a staircase with screws, and a medieval structure, offering a glimpse of monastic and seigneurial life between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Nottonville, a rural town in Eure-et-Loir, also houses other historical remains, such as the Château de La Brosse or local megaliths. The Abbey of the Woods, with its hybrid architecture (religious, agricultural and military), remains an emblematic example of the beauceron monastic heritage, linked to the order of Marmoutier and the history of the Viscounts of Chartres.

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