Mortemer Abbey

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The 17th Century Abbey and Dovecote

Mortemer Abbey (L'Abbaye de Mortemer) is a former Cistercian monastery in the Forest of Lyons between the present Lyons-la-Forêt and Lisors, some 34 km (21 miles) southeast of Rouen in the department of Eure. It is located on the territory of the commune of Lisors.

1 History
2 Buildings
3 Legends
4 External links

[edit] History

It was originally built in 1134 on land gifted to the Cistercians by Henry I of England.The land received turned out to be water-logged and the stagnant water or "dead water" - in French "morte mer" - gave the monastery its name. After digging a large drainage lake which still exists today, the monks constructed what was then the largest Cistercian monastery in the world^{[citation needed]}.

Over the centuries, the abbey fell into decline and disrepair. It was rebuilt in the 17th Century, but the decline was irreversible and by 1790, when it was dissolved in the course of the French Revolution, only five monks remained.

[edit] Buildings

The 12th century buildings were already more or less derelict by the time of the French Revolution, and subsequent use as a convenient source of cut stone for local construction reduced them to little more than a ruin. Apart from the cloisters, which are relatively intact, there remains only a shell.

The 17th century buildings by contrast are well preserved and open to visitors, with guided tours available most of the year.

The abbey site also has a well-maintained 17th century dovecote, which was also used as a gaol house in the 18th and 19th centuries.