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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Coudier barn is a 12th century building located in Ambazac, Haute-Vienne. It originally belonged to the abbey of Solignac before being ceded in 1178 to the monks of Grandmont, a religious order which established a priory there. This site became an important place for order, especially for the exercise of seigneurial justice.

The estate was mentioned in the 11th century, when Gérard de Jau offered the Abbey of Solignac his manse de Coder (Coudier). Around 1220, Caturcin, the ninth prior of Grandmont, sat there after receiving from Henri III Plantagenet the rights of high and low justice. The rectangular barn originally consisted of two rows of eleven pillars, but was later partially reduced.

The Coudier barn was listed as historical monuments on 30 June 1980. Today, it hosts shows and concerts, while maintaining its characteristic medieval architecture. The north-north-west gable was rebuilt before 1821, reflecting changes over the centuries.

This monument illustrates the importance of monastic barns in the economy and social organization of the Middle Ages. These buildings served as places for crop storage, land management and sometimes administrative centres for religious orders, as was the case for Grandmont.

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