La Charité Priory

After its foundation, the priory experienced a period of great prosperity, favoured by numerous donations, which made possible its development, the construction of the monastic buildings and the great church of Notre-Dame, begun at the end of the 11th century. This church is thought to have replaced an earlier temple dedicated to Saint-Laurent, of ancient origin, probably predating the 11th century. It would have been the first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary mentioned in the 1059 charter, and was probably used until the 16th or 17th century, perhaps for funerary purposes. Merovingian remains have been found in this area. In addition, the remains of another chapel have been discovered beneath the nave of Notre-Dame church, now occupied by a square.

Until the 14th century, the priory retained the right to elect its prior without Cluny’s intervention. This freedom was later restricted by royal appointments and, in 1486, the first commendatory prior was appointed, Cardinal Charles II of Bourbon († 1488). The priory suffered several disasters that affected it to varying degrees: a fire in 1201, the effects of the Hundred Years’ War during the first half of the 15th century, and another fire in 1559, which made reconstruction necessary. Shortly afterwards, during the Wars of Religion, it suffered further destruction, resulting in the loss of much of the nave of the church, which was reduced to only four bays.

Among the buildings predating the foundation of 1059 are the ruins of Saint-Laurent church (10th-11th centuries) and the remains of a second church beneath the square, in the area corresponding to the naves demolished in the 16th century. Of Notre-Dame church, the transept and chevet survive, begun at the end of the 11th century and enlarged in the following century with an ambulatory and five radiating chapels. Only four bays of the nave survive. At the western end are the Romanesque bell tower and the former church portal, which gives access to an open space, with the new façade built after the destruction of the 16th century. The two surviving portals, with their remarkable sculptural decoration, are particularly noteworthy; they date from between 1130 and 1135.