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Origin and history

The monastic farm of Meslay, located in Parçay-Meslay (Indre-et-Loire), was built around 1220 under the impulse of Hugues de Rochecorbon, Abbé de Marmoutier. Designed as a fortified monastic barn, it served as an agricultural outbuilding to the abbey, with a wall of enclosure, a monumental gate to the guard room, and a large stone barn with oak frame. Its architecture reflects Marmoutier's economic and religious power in the Middle Ages, combining agricultural, defensive and symbolic functions.

The barn, burned by the English during the Hundred Years War, was rebuilt in the 15th century, with a five-nave and thirteen-span frame, still visible today. After the French Revolution, the estate was sold in 1791 to architect François Derouet. In 1939, the barn, the gate and part of the enclosure were classified as historical monuments. During the Second World War, a fire caused by the explosion of a German ammunition depot destroyed the seigneurial house and severely damaged other buildings.

Since 1964, the barn has hosted a classical music festival founded by pianist Sviatoslav Richter, which inaugurated concerts with Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 2. This unique place, combining medieval heritage and cultural life, illustrates the contemporary appropriation of a monastic site. The farm preserves rare elements such as the geminied bay of the gate, the blind rosace, and traces of the missing round path, testimonies of its defensive past.

Originally, the compound also housed a missing priory, linked to the presence of the monks managing the estate. The farm is distinguished by its atypical fortified plan for a farm, with a partially preserved wall of enclosure (north, south and west sides) and a porch tower serving as the main entrance. The structure of the barn, rebuilt after the English destruction, rests on oak poles and stone bases, characteristic of the Cistercian barns.

Located 2.5 km north of Parçay-Meslay, between the D910 and the A10 motorway, the farm was an economic relay for the abbey, as evidenced by the gifts of fief from the 11th century (especially that of Renaud de Hodet in 1061). Its history reflects the political and military upheavals of the region, from the Hundred Years' War to the conflicts of the twentieth century, while embodying the resilience of a heritage today dedicated to culture.

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