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Origin and history

The priory of Lavaré, also known as Lavaray, is a Benedictine agricultural monastery located in Fondettes, in Indre-et-Loire, near the border with Saint-Roch and La Membrolle-sur-Coisille. Located on a plateau overlooking the Choisille valley, it illustrates the 13th and 16th century rural religious architecture, with a tithe barn classified and a partially preserved fortified enclosure. Its name, attested as early as 1063 in the form Lavariacum, evokes its historical anchoring in the Tourangelle region.

Founded around 1100 by Gautier Loggia, a poor lord, the priory was initially placed under the name of Saint Vincent before being bequeathed to the Abbey of Marmoutier in the 14th century. The monks developed a model farm (silve, ager, hortus), while seigneurial conflicts in the 12th century, such as those involving Geoffroi de Lavardin or Clerembauld de Maillé, marked its history with tithe exemptions and land acquisitions. The site, crossed by ancient Gallo-Roman routes linking Tours to Mans and Angers, became a strategic crossroads.

In the 13th century, the current buildings were erected, including the tidal barn (43 m long), enlarged in the 15th to 16th centuries to increase its storage capacity. The defence tower (20 m), the residence of the prior (renovated in the 15th and 18th centuries), and the circular dovecote (XVI century, 1,000 bolts) complete the whole. Confiscated as a national good in 1791, the priory retained his agricultural vocation under private owners, despite transformations such as the destruction of the house galleries in 1840.

Ranked a historic monument in 1965 (grange) and listed (premise, tower, house, pigeon house), the property was restored from 1998 by private individuals. Today, the site hosts visits, concerts and receptions, while preserving furniture such as a bas-relief of Saint Barbe (Musée de Touraine). Its architecture, close to that of the farm of Meslay, makes it a rare example of medieval agricultural priory in the Centre-Val de Loire.

The written sources, such as the cartulars of Marmoutier (1272) or the departmental archives of Tours, underline its economic and religious role. The priory thus embodies the transition between the Middle Ages (monastic exploitations) and the modern epoch (secular management), while testifying to the landscape and social changes of the Touraine.

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