The Cistercian nunnery of Notre-Dame de Bouchet is thought to have been founded between 1181 and 1184 by Raymond des Baux, and from the outset it remained linked to the seigneurial houses of Les Baux and of Orange. In 1230, Bertrand de Garrigues, a follower of Dominic of Guzmán during the formative period of the Order of Preachers, died at this site. He was buried at the abbey, where he was venerated, although his remains were later transferred to Orange.
The upheavals caused by the Hundred Years’ War, together with outbreaks of plague, led the monastery into gradual decline. In 1413 the abbey was united with Aiguebelle (Drôme), and its possessions were sold; only a small, largely nominal male community remained, which was suppressed in 1476. During the Wars of Religion, the site was occupied by the Huguenots and suffered severe damage. After the French Revolution, the complex was used for industrial and agricultural purposes until, in 2005, it passed into public ownership, allowing its study and restoration.
The church is preserved, with a Romanesque structure and a Latin cross plan, featuring a central apse of the same dimensions as the nave and two apsidioles on the arms of the transept, of which only the southern one survives. A large two-storey building dating from the 13th century should also be noted: the refectory was located on the ground floor, while the dormitory of the nuns occupied the upper level. Documentary sources from that time indicate that the community numbered up to twenty-eight nuns.
Refectory and dormitory building (13th century)
Refectory and dormitory building (13th century)
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- CHAPPAZ ORTEGA, Rayen (2021). Bouchet – Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bosquet. Archéologie de la France
- COTTINEAU, Laurent-Henri (1936). Répertoire topo-bibliographique des abbayes et prieurés. Vol. 1. Mâcon: Protat
- JANAUSCHEK, Leopoldus (1877). Originum Cisterciensium. Vol. 1. Viena
- LACROIX, André (1868). L'arrondissement de Montélimar, vol. 1. Valence: Combier et Nivoche
- MALBOIS, Émile. (1919). Quelques notes sur l’abbaye de Bouchet. Bulletin de la Société d'archéologie et de statistique de la Drôme, vol. 2. Valence
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1715). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 1. París: Coignard
- SÉJALON, Hugues) (1863). Annales de l'Abbaye d'Aiguebelle de l'Ordre de Citeaux, 2 vols. Valence: Céas
The commune of Bouchet lies to the north of Orange and to the east of Bollène