Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Priory of Saint-Jean-du-Grais, located in the forest of Bréchenay at Azay-sur-Cher (Indre-et-Loire), was founded in the 12th century by two hermits, Renaud Frémaud and Geoffroi Paissonel, after a donation by Foulques V d'Anjou in 1120. Initially Cistercian, he became Augustinian in the 17th century before being administered by the Oratorians in 1771. The site preserves Romanesque remains such as a bell tower, a dormitory, a capitular hall and a 14th century fresco.

The priory depended first on St Paul's Abbey in Cormery, then became independent in 1184 thanks to a pontifical bubble of Lucius III. In the 15th century, buildings were added, including a prioral house. Sold as a national property in 1791, the church was dismantled in the 19th century, leaving only its bell tower. In 1928, the remains were classified as Historical Monuments, and in 2004 contemporary Sarkis stained glass windows were installed there.

The foundation of the priory is linked to a hermitic community in the forest of Bréchenay, benefiting from donations from local lords such as Foulques V d'Anjou and his son Geoffroy V. The site, located on a plateau between the Cher and Indre, would have marked the route of an ancient Roman way. In the Middle Ages, he derived his income from vineyards, tithes and alms, with an estimated income of 3,700 pounds in 1762.

Key figures include Jean Joscelin, the first prior after the death of the founders, and Victor Le Bouthillier, Archbishop of Tours, who became Prior in 1664. The priory also housed a 14th century mural, classified in 1928, representing a Christ in majesty. In 2000, an association commissioned 39 monochrome stained glass windows in Sarkis for the refectory, dormitory and capitular room.

The buildings, organized in quadrilateral, include a 20-metre-long refectory, a vaulted capitular hall and a dormitory accessible by a masonry staircase. The Romanesque bell tower, with an octagonal arrow, is similar to those of Yzeures-sur-Creuse and Courçay. The site, now open to visitors, hosts concerts and exhibitions, perpetuating its cultural heritage.

External links