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Origin and history

The priory of Port-l'Abbé is a former Augustine priory located in Etriché, in the department of Maine-et-Loire. Founded in the first half of the 12th century, it was originally attached to the abbey of La Roë. Sources diverge from its founder: Robert d'Arbrissel according to Wikipedia, or Bishop Rainaud de Martigné according to Monumentum. This disagreement illustrates the historical uncertainties surrounding its specific origins.

In 1523, Abbé Guy Le Clerc, chaplain of Anne de Bretagne, built the house and chapel, marking a major reconstruction phase in the early 16th century. The priory then underwent transformations in the 18th century before being sold as a national good in 1791. Between 1918 and 1934, some of its interiors were distraught, altering its original state.

The priory is partially protected as historical monuments: the facade of the chapel was classified in 1965, while other elements (Romanesque chapel, Renaissance residence, common) were inscribed in 1997. These protections testify to its heritage importance, despite the changes and degradations experienced over the centuries.

The site includes several remarkable elements: a Romanesque chapel (excluding a classified west façade), a Renaissance-style house, a 16th-century Saint-Fort chapel, as well as commons and ruins of a tithe barn. These remains offer an overview of the architectural evolution of the priory, from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries.

The location of the priory, noted as "a priori satisfactory" (level 7/10), places the monument at the following address: 5082 Port l'Abbe, 49330 Stretched. This geographical precision makes it possible to identify its anchor in the Angelvin territory, in the heart of the Pays de la Loire.

Sold as a national good during the Revolution, the priory embodies the political and religious upheavals of the late eighteenth century. Its history thus reflects the changes of ecclesiastical institutions in France, from its medieval foundation to its modern secularization.

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