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Origin and history

La Corroirie is a fortified feudal fiefdom dependent on the Chartreuse du Liget, located in Chemillé-sur-Indrois in Indre-et-Loire. Founded at the end of the 12th century as a "low house" of the Chartreuse, it housed the conversing brothers in charge of managing an agricultural estate of nearly 1,500 hectares. Its name, derived from the Latin conderium, refers to the material resources necessary for monastic life (food, clothing, maintenance).

In the Middle Ages, Corroirie developed through donations from local and royal lords, becoming an economic and judicial centre with rights of high and low justice. During the Hundred Years War (1361, 1392), it served as a refuge for the monks of the upper house, who fled to Loches through an underground. The buildings were then fortified, with defensive embankments and installations like murderers in the church, partially transformed into a bastion in the 15th century.

The Wars of Religion (1562, 1584, 1589) accelerated its militarization: a fortified castle with drawbridge was built around 1575, moats dug, and a turret prison erected. In the 17th century, Corroirie lost its religious vocation — the church was closed to worship in 1674 — to become a farm, while retaining its seigneurial role until the Revolution. Sold as a national property in 1791, it remained inhabited and preserved until the 21st century.

The architecture of the site reflects these changes: the church, several times redesigned, combines novel elements (initial nave) and defensive additions (murder, round path). The cellars, raised several times, house flour mills in the seventeenth century. The 16th century fortified gate, with its mâchicoulis and drawbridge machinery, illustrates the transition to a strong house. The site, listed as historic monuments in 1926 and extended in 2015, also includes a medieval prison and remnants of moat.

Corroiria embodies the duality of the Chartreuses between spiritual (high house) and temporal (low house), with rare legal autonomy: it exercises justice on its territory until 1789. Its pond, created by the Chartreux to feed mills and moats, and its underground — perhaps the escape passage of 1361 — add to its exceptional character. Today, the site combines heritage preservation (guest rooms, distillery) and historical memory.

Architectural studies (Gérard Fleury, Bruno Dufaÿ) specified the chronology of constructions, while recent excavations revealed details of the defensive phases. La Corroirie also appears in cultural works, such as the film Joan of Arc (2015) or contemporary police novels, highlighting its historical and aesthetic appeal.

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