Valsery Abbey

Founded in 1126 in Vivières, the abbey is one of the oldest in the order of Prémontré in France. Transferred to the Valsery site in 1153, the abbey church was consecrated in 1227 by Jacques de Bazoches, bishop of Soissons, in the presence of Saint-Louis, Blanche de Castille, the bishops and the lords of the court.

In 1356, the English and the soldiers of Navarre ravaged the monastery, then in 1414, it was the turn of the Burgundian troops from Soissons. In 1567, the wars of religion completely devastated the monastery, the Protestants who became masters of Soissons on September 27, 1567 having been relentless on religious buildings. In Valsery, the looting lasted three days, some monks were knocked out, others hanged or burned alive. The monastic buildings and the church were burnt down and only the church choir remained.

It was not until 1585, under the abbey of Louis de Lametz, that the total rebuilding of the convent was carried out, preserving what the flames had spared. The successors, Denis de Lorry then Claude de Manevillette, rebuilt the cloister, the abbey home and redecorated the church.

In 1713 the abbey was attached to the bishopric of Soissons. In 1766, the community counted 10 canons and two novices, but very quickly came the Revolution and its upheavals. Sold in 1793 as national property, the church and the cloister were destroyed almost immediately, as well as the pavilion which ended the northern facade.

In 1804, Baron Charles d'Estave bought what was left of the old abbey to make it a castle according to his tastes, but the whole was the victim of the bombings of the summer of 1918 which accompanied the famous offensive of General Mangin.

Heavily damaged, the buildings were abandoned until 1996, the date of creation of the safeguarding association by Pierre and Françoise Pottier. In April 2013, the association was reactivated by Daniel Balet, stonemason, around a new project focused on stone shaping and heritage.