Le Villars Priory

If it was not a female house from the outset, it was later occupied by a community of nuns under the authority of a prior, initially a monk appointed by the mother abbey and later lay priors under the commendatory system. The priory was occupied by the Huguenots in 1562. The presence of monk-priors continued while Tournus retained its monastic community, but in 1621 the abbey was secularized. In fact, from 1610 the priory was no longer directly controlled by the mother abbey, and the priors were appointed externally under the commendatory system, with entitlement to its revenues.

The priory church, built in the 11th century, survives. It was originally a single-nave building with a transept and three semicircular apses. In the 12th century the nave was lengthened and a second nave was added along its south side. In a second phase during the same century, a porch was added to the original church. The southern nave was subsequently assigned to the community of nuns. The two parts of the church were protected during the first half of the 20th century. The original church, with its porch, is now used as a parish church, while the independent southern nave has been deconsecrated. Each of the two buildings retains its portal, decorated with 12th-century elements.