Abbaye Notre-Dame de Fontaine-Guérard

Radepont

Founded around 1135 by Amaury I of Meulan as a priory of nuns, the house experienced its rebirth thanks to a major gift from Robert III de Beaumont around 1190, before affiliating to the Cistercian order shortly before 1207. The church was consecrated in 1218 by Robert Poulain, archbishop of Rouen; the regular buildings were completed in 1253, the year in which the first abbess, Ida de Meulan, took possession of them, the house being raised to abbey status under Saint Louis. The site preserves the dramatic memory of Marie de Ferrière, the ill-treated wife of Guillaume de Léon, who withdrew to the abbey before being murdered there on her husband's orders; by way of expiation, he funded work in the early 15th century on the chapel of Saint-Michel, where her recumbent effigy lies. The last abbess, Marie-Madeleine-Éléonore du Bosc de Radepont, withdrew in 1790; the buildings, sold as national property, housed a cotton mill from 1802, then passed to Baron Levavasseur in 1822 and were bequeathed to the Salvation Army in 1937. Restored in the 20th century and sold to a private owner in 2013, the abbey remains a romantic landmark of the Vexin normand.

Getting there : Commune of Radepont, Andelle valley, about 25 km from Rouen via the D6014; private site open to visitors according to seasonal opening hours

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound