Sightseeing at Valloires Abbey

When a visitor goes through the great door, which opens between two wings, he discovers a vast horseshoe-shaped courtyard whose outbuildings form the two curves. Leaving the round 16th century pigeon loft on one’s left, one approaches a long brick and stone building which extends across almost the whole width of the courtyard, i.e 60 m.

Entering the building, one turns to the right into the large drawing room. Decorated, like the rest of the abbey by Pfaff von Pfaffenhofen, it houses the portraits of Mgr d’Orléans de la Motte, bishop of Amiens, and of Dom Comeau, who were behind the reconstruction of the Abbey in the 18th century.

The capitular room overlooks the cloister encircled by four buildings in accordance with monastic rules. The latter, very sober with herringbone vaulting, are surrounded by a garden.

The monks’ cells were upstairs. They have been transformed into guest bedrooms which are accessed by remarkable wrought iron staircases.

The church, in local stone, that is white chalk supported by scrolled buttresses, is a real example of sobriety. Its 45 m. long west front, overlooks the simple graves of Basilian monks who died at Valloires from 1817 to 1900. Contrary to other Cistercian abbeys, the church has no towers, only a little rustic tiled steeple which overlooks to the north an annexe of the building.

The interior of the church offers a striking contrast with the simplicity of the external appearance. The interior layout is characterised by a profusion of curves, counter-curves, asymmetric scrolls and sinuous lines, whether it is the organ loft, the monks’ stalls, the statues and bas reliefs of the transept, of the marble high altar or the magnificent wrought iron grill separating the nave from the choir.

However, despite the absence of a straight line in this fine order, "the eye feels no impression of disorder or fatigue so evident the harmony of conception, the skill of execution, with which wood, marble or metal were used". (Pierre Dubois, ex-member of the Picardy Antiquaries Society).

History of Valloires Abbey

The creation of the Valloires Cistercian Abbey goes back to the 12th century. In 1138, Guy II de Ponthieu, a descendant of Hugh Capet, with monks of the Cistercian order signed up to the foundation of the seventh abbey of that order. Having first settled at Bonnances, then at Balances in the Abbeville area, the monks established themselves for good at Valloires (meaning little valley) in the Authie valley in 1158. The abbey had a period of great prosperity in the 12th and 13th centuries but the Hundred Years War then the Thirty Years War destroyed it almost completely. The abbey was rebuilt in the 18th century thanks to Prior Don Comeau and the bishop of Amiens. The Austrian sculptor Pfaff von Pfaffenhofen was put in charge of the interior decoration.

During the French Revolution, in 1791, the monks were expelled and the Abbey sold to Seigneur de l'Etoile who, most fortunately, saved it from the disasters of the Terror. In 1817, his heirs handed the Abbey over to a lay Basilian brotherhood who, in turn, were replaced in 1880 by the Société de Saint-Vincent de Paul. The latter set up an agricultural orphanage there. Put on sale again in 1906 as a result of the congregations law, fortunately it was classed as a historic monument the same year, then abandoned until 1922, the date when a team of Red Cross nurses led by Mademoiselle Papillon founded a children’s sanatorium. Today the Abbey is divided into two parts : the first is used as a home for children with difficulties, the second reserved for receiving and lodging visitors.

Practical info

Abbey guest quarters
Rooms and suites with character overlooking the gardens and cloister.

Access
75 km from Amiens, 200 km from Paris, A16 motorway exit N°24 (16 km from the Abbey) towards Boulogne, by N1 main road from Vron towards Argoules.

Opening times
Guided visits only :
In February and March : from Monday to Friday at 3:30pm.
From April 1 to November 12 : everyday at 11:30 am, 2:30 pm, 3:30 pm, 4:30 pm (also at 10:30 am and 5:30 pm in June, July and August)

Prices
Adults : 6.50 €
Children (from 6 to 12) : 4 €

Valloires Abbey
80120 ARGOULES
Tel : +33 (0)3 22 29 62 33 - Fax : +33 (0)3 22 29 62 24
E-mail : contact@abbaye-valloires.com
Website : www.abbaye-valloires.com

The Gardens of Valloires