Priory of Notre-Dame de Vouvant

The fortress of Vouvant belonged to Bourgogne de Rancon († 1169) and, upon her marriage to Hugh VIII of Lusignan, it passed into the hands of that lineage. In 1197, the priory is mentioned in a bull of Pope Celestine III confirming the possessions of Maillezais. This territory suffered from the effects of the Hundred Years’ War and, later, in the 16th century, from the Wars of Religion, which also affected this house, especially between 1586 and 1588. It is known that in the 17th century this site belonged to the chapter of the cathedral of Maillezais, which had taken over the former Benedictine monastery. At that time, the church of Vouvant was in a very poor state of preservation.

From the original 11th-century church, three bays of the western part are preserved, probably originally covered with vaults. The first three bays, however, have disappeared. In the 12th century, the chancel and the three eastern bays of the aisles, near the transept, were rebuilt. At the same time, the north façade of the transept was constructed, with a double portal. In the 14th or 15th century, this Romanesque portal was completed with a gable decorated with scenes representing the Last Supper in the lower part and the Ascension in the upper part. The whole complex was restored during the 19th and 20th centuries, including the crypt, which had almost disappeared.