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Origin and history

The Logis des Templiers de Chauvigny, located in the lower town, is traditionally associated with knights of the Order of the Temple. According to the accounts, the latter had two residences in Chauvigny: one in the upper town, called the Manoir des Puits, and the other in the lower town, still known as the Temple. This building, dated the thirteenth century, would have served as a residence for the Templars before their property was transferred to the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem after the removal of their order. Subsequent transformations, especially in the 19th century, profoundly altered its external appearance.

The current structure shows traces of partial burial, with a lower part buried for about a metre and pierced by modern openings. The façade preserves the remains of an old window, of which there is only a sharp start resting on a carved cap with a head. Inside, a wall painting, discovered under a bdigeon in the large ground floor room, was unfortunately later destroyed. The building is based on vaulted stone cellars, characteristic of medieval architecture, while the old outbuildings, accessible by doors now missing, were at the back, on the current location of modern buildings.

Ranked a Historical Monument by decree of 19 April 1915, the Templar Logis illustrates the legacy of religious military orders in Poitou. Its present state is the result of successive changes, especially in the 19th century, which altered its original appearance. Despite these changes, there remains an architectural testimony of the Templar presence in the region, although the direct material evidence of this occupation is now limited. The approximate location of the site, noted as satisfactory a priori, places the monument at 14 B Rue de Châtellerault in Chauvigny.

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