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Origin and history

The Priory of Bois-d'Allonne, also known as Notre-Dame du Bois-d'Allonne Abbey, was founded in the 12th century by William IV the Archbishop, Lord of Parthenay, as part of the monastic reforms. This monastery belonged to the Grandmontan Order, founded by Étienne de Thiers in 1076. Richard Coeur de Lion confirmed his possession by a charter in 1195. The building, rectangular in the shape of L, includes a capitular hall vaulted with warheads and a broken cradle refectory, typical of medieval monastic architecture.

In the 16th century, the priory suffered degradation during the Wars of Religion, requiring partial reconstruction in the 17th century. At that time, he owned land and received local rents. In 1769, the convent activities ceased, and his revenues were transferred to the seminary of Saint-Charles de Poitiers. The church and the abbey buildings, as well as archaeological plots, were listed as historical monuments on 29 September 1987.

The chapel, characteristic of the Grandmont order, has a nave without transept or side windows, illuminated by a Gothic choir with five sides. Seven arches in the middle of the wall, supported by leafed capital columns, structure the space. The capitular room, archaic in appearance, opens onto the cloister by a door in the middle of a hanger framed with geminied berries. Above is the dormitory of the monks, accessible by a gallery.

The entrance porch, arranged in the corner of buildings, probably dates from the 18th century. The protected elements include the church, the convent buildings, and the soils of parcels C.119 and C.120, which may contain remains. Today, the site is privately owned and bears witness to the monastic history of the Poitou and the architectural transformations associated with religious conflicts.

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