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Origin and history

Priory Saint-Pierre de Vontes is a former religious establishment founded in 1070 by Guy II, abbot of Saint-Paul de Cormery, on a land given to the abbey by Foulques le Réchin. Located in Esvres, in the Indre Valley, it was strategically located on a hillside, protected from flooding. The site, originally named Vedunta, housed a hermit named Leotheric before becoming a priory dependent on Cormery, although located within the parish boundary, which would explain his independence from the local church, then under the authority of the Prior of La Guerche.

During the Hundred Years War, in 1358, the priory was looted by an armed band led by Basquin du Poncet, operating from La Roche-Posay. These mercenaries, settled at Cormery Abbey, ravaged the area and devastated Saint-Pierre de Vontes. The chapel, dedicated to Saint Peter, was forbidden in 1787 before being converted into a dwelling. His remains, including wall paintings from the 12th to the 15th centuries (including a representation of Saint Eloi), were inscribed in historical monuments in 2001.

The priory's architecture retained defensive elements such as a fortified gate and moat, which had now disappeared. The chapel, rebuilt in the 15th to 16th centuries, features traces of three campaigns of painted decorations: 13th century geometric motifs, 14th century rinceaux and animals, and 15th century Greeks. A tithe barn, inspired by Meslay's, was still in existence in the 20th century before being demolished in the 1960s. Recent excavations revealed frescoes, including one illustrating the miracle of Saint-Éloi, reflecting the artistic importance of the site.

The priory illustrates the religious and military dynamics of the medieval Touraine. Its foundation in the 11th century reflects the expansion of Benedictine abbeys, while its destruction during the Hundred Years War highlights the vulnerabilities of rural settlements. The re-use of the chapel after the Revolution marks the secularization of ecclesiastical property under the Old Regime.

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