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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Cormainville's tithe barn is a medieval building located in the Eure-et-Loir department, in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Built in the 14th and 15th centuries, this large rectangular barn was initially integrated into a priory dependent on Bonneval Abbey. Its architectural features include foothills, ground gables, and a modillon cornice. Inside, it is divided into two floors accessible by an external staircase, with floors probably dating from the early period, reinforced to support the harvest.

The barn was part of a set of buildings of which it is today the only vestige. It was used to store tithes, taxes in kind levied for the Church, as Fr Bordas mentions in the 18th century, emphasizing its central role in the local economy. The barn was listed as a historic monument in 1928, recognizing its heritage value. It is now integrated into private property, which limits its access to the public.

Cormainville, a rural town with 213 inhabitants in 2023, is marked by a remarkable natural heritage, with protected Natura 2000 areas and a diversified avifauna. The village, crossed by the Conie River, also preserves a parish church from the 16th and 19th centuries, registered since 1927. The tithe barn, with its history linked to Bonneval Abbey, illustrates the importance of agricultural buildings in the medieval and post-medieval organisation of the Beauceronne countryside.

The name Cormainville, attested in various forms since the 12th century (Colomella, Colomevilla), could evoke boundary boundaries or etymology related to St.Colombe, according to the hypotheses of historians. The municipality, exposed to an altered oceanic climate, is also known for its wind farms developed in the 21st century, contrasting with its medieval agricultural and religious heritage.

The barn, with its reinforced walls and solid structure, reflects the construction techniques of the era, designed to withstand the heavy loads of crops. His inscription as a historical monument in 1928 preserved this rare testimony of medieval rural architecture in Beauce. Today, although private, it remains a symbol of the region's agricultural and religious past.

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