Abbey of Saint-Pierre de la Couture

[1] The founder of the abbey was Saint Bertrand, Bishop of Le Mans from 586 to 616, who founded the monastery "de la couture" in honour of Peter and Paul.

The monastery quickly amassed a significant amount of land, starting in Maine with donations from local lords.

The coat of arms of the abbey has always taken the double colours of the fleur-de-lis of the Kingdom of France and the three English lions.

Gauzbert rebuilt the abbey of Saint-Pierre de la Couture in 990, supported this time by Hugues I, Count of Maine, in agreement with Avesgaud, Bishop of Le Mans.

If donations were important for the abbey at that time, it was mainly because it recovered land lost during conflicts or usurped by secular lords.

[2] At the beginning of the 12th century, the abbey owned 30,000 hectares of land, this time collected in the Le Mans region.

In 1288, Charles, Count of Anjou and Maine, grants rights to hold two fairs each year to the monks of LaCouture, on their domain of Moullins.

During an outbreak of the plague which struck Le Mans in 1515, Dom Michel Bureau sent part of the community to shelter in Volnay Priory and took the others, including all the dignitaries to Moullins.

King Henry IV stayed in the abbey during the siege of Le Mans against the league on November 28, 1589.

Although the initial project was even more gigantic in scope, the church stopped the reconstruction in light of the small congregation willing to live in the monastery.

The central space is divided in two by a kind of intermediate building giving to the north the cloister and to the south the kitchen courtyard.

The French Revolution (1789) led to the departure of the monks and the eventual occupation of the abbey by departmental services of the revolutionary government.

[3] The decree of 11 February 1791 officially authorizes the departmental (and local, urban) administration to meet in council.

The archivist in charge at the time, Julien L'Hermitte, made requests and finally obtained the move in 1908.

The archives wandered around the city for a long time before finding a specially prepared anchor point in Pontlieue in 2002.

In addition to the archives, several rooms were used in the 18th century to store the archaeological and pictorial collections of the Le Mans museums.

In addition, in 1960, the former grounds of the abbey, located on Chanzy Street, allowed the creation of the administrative city.

Once the square has returned, there is finally some thought of restoring the premises, especially thanks to the new subsidies obtained due to the historic monuments label.

This work began as soon as the city administrative offices were moved; it was entrusted to the architect Jean-Louis Lagrange.

As for the abbey's enclosure, 2.8 ha in size, it was used not only to install the city administration, but also to build the Berthelot College or Victor Hugo Park.

On 11 July 1975, all the buildings excluding the modern north-west wing and the parts already classified were listed as historic monuments.

Classified as a historical monument by the 1841 list, this church faces directly across from the current boulevard René-Levasseur.

The full Latin name of the abbey was proof of this: Cenobium Sancti Petri dicitur ad culturam.

The choir is elevated above the crypt and is surrounded by ten strong columns and pillars, all of which are topped by semicircular arches.

In 1110, the body of Helie de la Flèche, former Earl of Maine, was brought into the abbey church.

He stops at the Couture and draws the facade of the abbey church with precision and with equal accuracy the figurations of the abbots engraved on the funeral slabs or sculpted on the mausoleums.

The old dwelling dating from the 16th century is still a medieval building that has suffered considerable damage due to its age.

The building facing the sunset from the south tower of the abbey church is the most functional with the atrium, the portery, the large entrance hall, the procurerie, the depository, etc.

The central pavilion will open on a porch, its pediment will be surmounted by a small bell tower giving rhythm to the monks' lives.

An interesting anecdote, above the front door is a carved woodwork with the initials LL, dedicated to Louis XV.