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Origin and history

The priory of Tamniès, established in 1311, was a regular non-conventual priory under the abbey of Sarlat and dependent on the order of Saint-Benoît. This monument, located in the present New Aquitaine, was an active religious place until the French Revolution, when he lost his status as priory. Its space organization, now partially erased, included a courtyard closed by buildings and a fence wall, with a housing body probably equipped with a floor.

During the Hundred Years' War, in 1413, British troops looted the church and the prioral house, marking a violent episode of its history. The current remains, remodelled in particular in the nineteenth century, no longer allow to accurately restore its appearance at its peak. The facades and roofs of the main building, listed in the Historic Monuments in 1978, are the only elements protected today. The interior redistribution and the disappearance of certain architectural elements, such as the north carriageway door, testify to the transformations that have been undergone over the centuries.

Originally, the priory played a central role in local religious and social life, as a dependency of Sarlat Abbey. Its U-shaped structure, with a passage between the house and the southern buildings, suggested an organization adapted to monastic and agricultural needs. The French Revolution ended its ecclesiastical functioning, and subsequent reconstructions, especially in the 19th century, profoundly altered its original configuration. Today, the site preserves traces of its medieval past, although its present state reflects only imperfectly its historical importance.

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