History

La Lucerne Abbey (Abbaye Sainte-Trinité de La Lucerne) is a Premonstratensian

Premonstratensian

The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...

 monastery situated in the forests of the Thar valley in the Manche

Manche

Manche is a French department in Normandy named after La Manche , which is the French name for the English Channel.- History :Manche is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

 department, near the commune of La Lucerne-d'Outremer

La Lucerne-d'Outremer

La Lucerne-d'Outremer is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-See also:*Communes of the Manche department...

, in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

The abbey was founded in 1143 by Hasculf de Subligny, son of Othoerne, the tutor of William Adelin, both of whom perished in the White Ship

White Ship

The White Ship was a vessel that sank in the English Channel near the Normandy coast off Barfleur, on 25 November 1120. Only one of those aboard survived. Those who drowned included William Adelin, the only surviving legitimate son and heir of King Henry I of England...

 disaster of 1120, and later had the support of the English crown. The new monastery was settled from Dommartin Abbey near Hesdin

Hesdin

Hesdin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic flow...

. The foundation stone of the permanent buildings was laid in 1164 by Achard of St. Victor

Achard of St. Victor

Achard of St. Victor was a canon regular, abbot of St. Victor's, Paris, and bishop of Avranches.By some authorities he is said to have been of English extraction, by others to be of the noble Norman family of de Pertins, of Domfront. He completed his studies at the School of St. Victor, and...

, who was later buried here. Construction lasted from 1164 to 1178 and was in the Romanesque

Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 style, in the restrained and sober manner of Cistercian architecture, except that the complex was dominated by an Anglo-Norman

Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...

 Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 tower.

La Lucerne was the mother-house of four other Premonstratensian monasteries: Ardenne Abbey

Ardenne Abbey

Ardenne Abbey, "l'Abbaye d'Ardenne," or Abbaye Ardenne is the site of a Premonstratensian monastery in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe, near Caen, France, containing a chapel built in 1121 and other medieval buildings....

, Mondaye Abbey

Mondaye Abbey

Saint-Martin de Mondaye is a French Premonstratensian abbey in the Bessin countryside at Juaye-Mondaye, Calvados, nine miles to the south of Bayeux. Founded in 1200, it is the only canonial abbey still active in Normandy.-Medieval:...

 and Belle-Étoile Abbey (at Cerisy-Belle-Étoile

Cerisy-Belle-Étoile

Cerisy-Belle-Étoile is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.-References:*...

) in Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

, and Beauport Abbey in Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

.

Major structural renovations were carried out in the 15th and 17th centuries.

During the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, in 1792, the abbey was suppressed. Its buildings were at first turned into a cotton mill and then used as a source of stone.

Reconstruction

The ruins were classed as a monument historique in 1928.

In 1959, under the aegis of Abbé Marcel Lelégard (1925-94), the enormous task was begun, which still continues under the "Fondation Abbaye de La Lucerne d'Outremer", of the restoration of the abbey. The first phase of the work was the reconstruction of the abbey church, particularly the ogival

Ogive

An ogive is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object.-Applied physical science and engineering:In ballistics or aerodynamics, an ogive is a pointed, curved surface mainly used to form the approximately streamlined nose of a bullet or other projectile.The traditional...

 crossing vaults and the west front with its Romanesque portal, continuing to the refectory and cellars.

Work has continued since then and the tithe barn

Tithe barn

A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing the tithes - a tenth of the farm's produce which had to be given to the church....

, the Romanesque lavatorium (the only one in Normandy), the medieval gatehouse (with its bakery and courtrooms), the dovecote

Dovecote

A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...

, the park, the 18th century abbot's lodgings and the ponds are all now restored . The chapel of Blessed Achard

Achard of St. Victor

Achard of St. Victor was a canon regular, abbot of St. Victor's, Paris, and bishop of Avranches.By some authorities he is said to have been of English extraction, by others to be of the noble Norman family of de Pertins, of Domfront. He completed his studies at the School of St. Victor, and...

is in the process of restoration.

One of the aims of the "Fondation Abbaye de La Lucerne d'Outremer" has been to re-establish a monastic community at La Lucerne, and the abbey is still being rebuilt with that intention.