Ermitage de Fourche (chapelle Saint-Blaise)

Le Vaudoué

Deep in the forest, a roofless ruin stands among the trees. It bears the name chapelle Saint-Blaise, or hermitage of Fourche. The Gâtinais français regional nature park thinks that a leper hospital, a place for people suffering from leprosy, existed there from the 12th century. The site is said to have belonged first to the Temple, then, from the 14th century, to the Hospitallers. From the 16th to the 18th century, several hermits lived there until the Revolution. After that, the building fell very quickly into ruin. A tourist page puts forward the date of 1150 and speaks of the ‘oldest Templar chapel in France’: this claim is not proven. Excavations carried out since 1974 have uncovered tombs around the chapel and the bases of buildings to the south. Today the ruin is stabilised, cleared of vegetation, with no plaster or furnishings. The building has been inscribed as a historic monument since 1926.

French Ministry of Culture — Mérimée, Ermitage de Fourche (restes) ↗

Getting there: Ruin on private property, no longer used for worship. Free access on foot, by paths and tracks in the forest, closed to cars. The site is not signposted from the road: take a map.

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

Ambient sound