Abbey of Notre-Dame at La Couronne

In May last year, we visited the ruined Abbey of Notre-Dame at La Couronne,  a small town near Angouleme. Bizarrely, some would say outrageously, contraposed only a few metres from a giant Lafarge cement works, the contrasts in building type, construction and  800 years of passing history are stark. You can see this in the fifth photo down, but as this is a blog about the abbey and not the cement works, I have tried to keep the latter out of the pictures! It's not all that easy; as one cannot walk around inside the building, snapping has to be done from the perimeter. Not only is it private property, but I guess the danger from falling stones is quite high! The decision to site the cement works here is not, however, as ridiculous as one might think. I'll reveal how it happened at the end of the blog!

The first stone was laid, it is said, on 12 May 1118, the works proceeded quickly and a monk named Lambert was elected abbot of the first, primitive, church on Easter day 1122.

The abbey proved to be very successful and further building work  proceeded over the next 80 years, the slow pace due to wars and famines, but a second, more elaborate, church was consecrated in 1201. The building and rebuilding went on; cloisters, an infirmary and refectory were added or rebuilt.

There's a distant connection between this abbey and the English royal lineage. Isabelle of Angouleme, the widow of King John (he of  Magna Carta and  lost treasure fame) was buried here, but her son Henry III of England) exhumed the body and had it reburied in the Kings' cemetery at an abbey in the Loire valley.

The monks were dispersed during the 100 Years War but for a brief period after that, more rebuilding was carried out until 1514, when it ceased.

The cement works silo looms over the ancient stonework. 

The wars of religion, lasting 36 years in the late 16th century, badly affected the abbey, parts of which were burnt and pillaged. At this time it was occupied by only eight men of faith, following the Jesuit order.

A last work programme of improvements occupied the years between 1750 and 1778 but following the great upheaval of the French Revolution which took place shortly afterwards, the site became national property and was sold in 1807 as a source of building stone. 

The beautiful stone work and carvings were dismantled, presumably in an uncontrolled fashion, over the next 120 years.

Magnificent  centuries-old abbey gateway, standing now adjacent to a suburban street in this mixed industrial, residential and rather surreal area.

Masonry and carving detail, craftsmanship of the highest order........

And now, the answer to the puzzle of the cement works! In 1928, Lafarge bought the building land for a new plant, but as a consequence of this, it also acquired the abbey, ending all the years of pillaging of stone by the local population. Since then, Lafarge has restored and looked after the building and the park. As part of its social responsibility programme, the company works with the local community to restore life to the abbey through cultural events and to provide the opportunity for the discovery of its historical heritage. So, without the deal between Lafarge and the authorities, there might well be nothing left for us to marvel at today!

Thanks to Nigel for all his research and writing the article to go with my photos.

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My Life Before Charente  - New post 11/02/2015

Les Salles Lavauguyon and surrounding area

There is so much of interest here, that I took 61 photos!!; I whittled these down, with the hope that I have picked the best. The village lies just over Charente's eastern border, in the Haute-Vienne, close to the perimeter of a huge crater created by a meteorite 200 million years ago - of which more another time! The settlement has a fascinating more-recent history, as you will see below.

The smaller sign above is written, I suspect, in either the language of Occitan (Oc) or a dialect (Oïl), which was spoken by the peoples of the region in medieval times. Both these words means "yes" in the respective languages, but the latter is now unfortunately reported as becoming extinct.

The very imposing mairie!

A street scene, with village shop, providing groceries and many other useful services, like gas bottles, Wi-Fi, mail box and photocopying! Few of these local businesses have survived supermarket competition, so the villagers have a rare treasure here!

The sign marks a local tourist route, set up to honour Richard the Lionheart (King Richard I of England from 1189 to his death in 1199), who spent much of his time in the region during the latter part of the 12th century as a ruler and commander, notably in the Third Crusade against Saladin. His mother was Eleanor of Aquitaine, the wife of Henry II, and he spoke in the local dialects mentioned above.

The village was also on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, so it must have been an important and busy place, with travellers always passing to and fro. 

The church was commenced in 1075 and dedicated to Saint Eutrope, who was a regional bishop, martyred in the 3rd century. It is a striking example of Romanesque architecture, but having unfortunately been sited both on quite a steep slope (as you can see above) and next to a spring, it suffered greatly from damp and a slippery earth floor. This was was only levelled and paved in the 19th century!

Close up of decorative arches and carving over the entrance door

The church underwent major reconstruction in the 12th century when the priory was added. Built to accommodate a chapter of 12 religious men, who were of a status senior to monks, it originally comprised only two rooms, a ground floor communal room (still used today!) and a dormitory above.

The nave and altar

Ancient masonry and stained glass windows

View towards the entrance door.

The following series of photos are of the magnificent 12th century frescoes,  only discovered by accident in 1986, when restoration work required the removal of walling which had been covering them!

The themes, high quality and the richness of their colours make them unique in western Europe.

Panels depict scenes from both the old and new testaments, which include the 'Creation' (Adam and Eve) and the 'Nativity' (Birth of Jesus), as well as illustrations of the vices, greed, violence, vanity and lust, and the brutal death of Saint-Eutrope. Other frescoes on the south and north walls continue the themes with dedications to male and female saints (all of whom where martyrs) and priors.

A side doorway with wall statue

Presumably a font; note how the floor paving has been roughly taken up so as to accommodate the base!

A niche dedicated to Saint Eutrophe, now sadly lacking the effigy

Moving 2 kilometres down the road to the neighbouring hamlet, simply,  but confusingly, called Lavauguyon, where the lavoir, originally providing the village's laundry facility, can be found beside a bridge over this small watercourse.

Lavaugyon is also the site of a 12th century ruined castle, which must have seen action in the times of Richard the Lionheart

It is now slowly being restored by voluntary labour, but I hope they get on with the work before it collapses and disappears for ever!

This looks serious!

The  prominent memorial, sited on a green next to the church, to those of the village who gave their lives in the Great War of 1914-18.

See also My Life Before Charente (updated 30 March)

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