Ancienne abbaye de Doue

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

A community of regular canons settles at Doue in 1138, then is attached in 1162 to the Premonstratensian canons. The abbey grows notably during the 13th century thanks to donations. The church is built in the first third of the 12th century (choir) and enlarged in the third third (transept, nave), then in the 14th century (St. Catherine chapel). The abbey buildings with the cloister are erected in the 13th century. The abbey suffered greatly from the Wars of Religion (buildings burned, canons expelled) and remains virtually abandoned. The abbots of the 17th and 18th centuries endeavour to restore regular life with some monks and to repair the buildings, but the abbey's situation remains precarious and it is suppressed in 1770 and united to the episcopal mensa. Emptied of its furnishings, the abbey is abandoned and the church in critical condition. At the Revolution, the domain is sold as national property to a merchant of Le Puy, Mathieu Bertrand. The Bertrand de Doue family strives throughout the 19th century to develop the domain and to arrange the abbey buildings as a dwelling house, while the church, deprived of its nave, is transformed into a barn. The Bayon de la Tour, who inherit it in 1890 by marriage, continue this task throughout the 20th century. The current descendant strives to complete the rehabilitation by relying on archaeological surveys and a study of the built structure.

Description

"The abbey church occupies the northern part of the complex. It comprises: a chevet with five sides, furnished with two apsidioles and a large square chapel to the south; a transept with two arms whose crossing is surmounted by a bell tower; a nave of three bays, whose elevations and coverings have disappeared. To the south, three wings of monastic buildings are arranged around the trapezoidal courtyard open at the north-west angle. They should have been connected and served by a cloister gallery. The East wing, comprising the chapter house, is built in the extension of the south transept of the church. The south wing in return presents openings from the 19th century, but has retained certain interior arrangements from the 18th century. The West wing, unprotected, retains, in its court facade, doors from the Gothic period (13th and 15th centuries) and thus dates back, like the church and the East wing, to the origins of the abbey. A terrace garden had been laid out below its external facades. An old stone-built fish pond, with its water-supply channel and a drinking trough, is situated nearby."