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Origin and history

La Maison des Dames de la Foy is a former Catholic convent founded in Clairac, Lot-et-Garonne department, in the late 17th century. This monument, located north of Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens Church, was created in a context of Catholic reconquest after the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685. Louis XIV assigned an annex to the Abbey of Clairac to establish a charitable school, held by the Ladies of the Foy, religious of the Christian Union.

The Ladies of the Foy, two originally and then three in 1791, taught girls reading, writing and religious duties. They received a royal pension of £435. The building, rebuilt at the end of the seventeenth century, was sold as a national good during the Revolution. After serving as a school in the 1940s, it now belongs to the bishopric and houses housing.

The house, with its vantals, fence wall and interior courtyard, has been listed as historic monuments since 1996. Its architecture, made of brick and honeycomb, preserves characteristic elements of the late seventeenth century, such as an orderly facade and an old fireplace. The site forms a religious ensemble with the abbey and the adjoining church.

The convent illustrates the policy of Catholic reconquest in Protestant land after 1685. Its history reflects the religious tensions of the time, as well as the evolution of its use, from a place of religious instruction to a report building. Successive transformations have changed its interior, but some external elements remain protected.

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