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Origin and history

The Maison-Dieu de Châtillon-sur-Thouet, founded in the 12th century, is a religious complex located in the Deux-Sèvres department in New Aquitaine. This priory, originally dedicated to the reception of pilgrims and the sick, consists of a single-nave Romanesque church and a cloister whose remains remain only remains. The building has been protected as historical monuments since 1924 for the church and 1927 for other parts.

The church of the Madeleine, founded in 1174 by William IV, lord of Parthenay, on his return from pilgrimage, was part of an Augustinian priory. Conventual buildings, now extinct, included a cloister whose vault departures, dated the fourteenth century, are still visible on the north wall. The church, of simple plan with a nave of two spans and a rounded apse, preserves a restored painted Romanesque decor, simulating a stone apparatus.

The Prioress took the name of God's House after the annexation of a nearby chaplaincy, providing care for the sick and alms to the poor. In the 16th century, the sick room became the first civil hospital in Parthenay, before being transferred to the citadel in the 17th century. The site also includes remarkable elements such as a Romanesque portal, a window decorated with columnettes, and a screw staircase with polygonal turret.

The protections for historical monuments cover the old church (classified in 1924), as well as the remains of the cloister, a walled door, openings overlooking the choir, and a vaulted lodge (registered in 1927). The priory illustrates the importance of medieval religious institutions in welcoming travellers and the poor, while at the same time witnessing the evolution of hospital structures.

According to the sources of Monumentum, the foundation of the priory in 1174 is part of the context of the return of Compostela by William the Archbishop, who also created the Church of St. James of Parthenay. The cloister, now extinct, was along the north wall of the church, whose western gable preserves a portal and a columned window, characteristic of Poitevin Roman art.

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