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Origin and history

The priory of Roches-Saint-Paul, located in the eponymous hamlet north of Ligré (Indre-et-Loire), finds its origins in an ancient occupation of the site. An iron age tumulus was reported in the 19th century, and a hamlet named Locus de Rupibus Sancti Pauli already existed in the 12th century. The present priory, dependent on Saint Paul Abbey of Cormery, was built in the 16th century, with Eustache du Bellay as prior in the middle of this century. Its buildings, characteristic of the Renaissance religious architectures, were completed by a 17th century wing of housing.

In 1768 the priory was abolished by the Archbishop of Tours, and his property was attached to the collegiate Saint-Mexme of Chinon. During the Revolution, the buildings, seized as national property, were sold between 1794 and 1799. Degradations continued in the 19th and 20th centuries: the chapel disappeared on an indefinite date, and in 1968 a wing and a corner tower were demolished. Only the facades and roofs of the old parts were protected by a decree of 17 April 1952.

Today, the priory consists of two perpendicular wings (north-south and east-west), connected by a polygonal turret housing a stone staircase. The west wing, made of cut stone, preserves shovel windows and a scald, while the north wing, made of limestone, has undergone reshaping. The medieval chapel, demolished, could have kept a crypt under the modern building which replaced it. The site, partially restored, now offers a rental cottage in a historic annex.

The priory illustrates the architectural evolution of religious establishments between the Middle Ages and modern times, marked by phases of construction, decline and reuse. Its history also reflects the political and religious upheavals, from the Catholic Reformation to the French Revolution, which transformed the ecclesiastical heritage in France.

Archaeological and textual sources, such as the newsletters of the Society of Friends of Old Chinon or the dictionaries of Touraine, highlight the local importance of the site. Despite the destruction, the recorded remains offer a tangible testimony of monastic and seigneurial life in Touraine, between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries.

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