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Origin and history

The Priory of Notre-Dame de Vausse was founded in the early 13th century by Anseric de Montréal, Baron Bourguignon near Duke Eudes III. Located in a wild place in the forest of Châtel-Gérard, it depended on the abbey of Val des Choues and benefited from the protection of the seigneurs of Montreal and then the Dukes of Burgundy. The monks, some twenty, lived according to a rule combining Benedictine, Cistercian and Chartreuse influences. Their reputation for holiness attracted many gifts, ensuring the prosperity of the priory until the 15th century.

In the 15th century, despite the expansion work (cloister completed in 1511), the decline began with the scarcity of vocations and gifts. In the 16th century, the beginning – the appointment of priors by the king rather than by the monks – accelerated decadence. The comndatary priors, often absent, negligated management, while the fewer monks lost their rigor. A fire in the 18th century damaged the eastern wing, and in 1763 the last monk left Vausse for the mother abbey.

At the Revolution, the priory was sold as a national good and transformed into a faiencery by Joseph Dumortier in 1792. The bell tower was demolished, the church built in a workshop with an oven, and the production of earthenware (dishware, pots of pharmacy) lasted until 1858. The historian Ernest Petit, born there in 1835, then bought the site, partially restored it, and made it his work office. He wrote about a hundred works, including a complete history of the Dukes of Burgundy.

Today, the priory is preserved by the descendants of Ernest Petit and the association Vausse Animation. The buildings, centered around a 15th century square cloister and a 13th century church (33 m long), testify to its monastic architecture. The church, with a dogive vaulted nave, preserves traces of its transformations (revolutionary floor, faience oven). The site, partially classified as Historical Monument in 1944, hosts cultural visits and events.

The history of Vausse illustrates the cycles of prosperity and decline of the medieval priories, marked by political hazards (end of the Dukes of Burgundy in 1477), religious reforms (commendation), and revolutionary upheavals. Its rescue by the earthenware, then by the commitment of Ernest Petit, makes it a rare example of both religious, industrial and intellectual heritage.

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