Fontenelles Abbey

The monastery was originally Benedictine but after a lawsuit broke out between the abbot of Fontenelles and the abbot of Marmoutier, a prestigious Benedictine monastery, the community became Augustinian, as a daughter house of the nearby Chancelade Abbey, in about 1224.

In 1562 during the Wars of Religion Protestants attacked the abbey, killing some of the monks, set it on fire and largely destroyed it.

In particular they damaged the church to the extent that part of nave collapsed, leaving it permanently shortened, with a Greek cross floor plan.

The site was later used for agriculture: the church was turned into a barn and the abbot's lodging into accommodation for labourers.

The truncated church is the most intact structure remaining, and contains the tomb of either the foundress Béatrice de Machecoul or her daughter Jeanne, Vicomtesse de Thouars, consisting of a recumbent effigy (gisant) in an arched recess (arcosolium) with small figures.