La Lucerne Abbey

Visit one of Normandy’s oldest Premonstratensian abbeys, whose doors open onto an exceptional ensemble: the abbey church, the Anglo-Norman tower heralding the Gothic style, the cloister and Romanesque washbasin, the refectory, the bakery, the guest room, the dovecote and the abbot’s dwelling. Thearchitecture is complemented by a picturesque setting, a forest and verdant park where the remains of an aqueduct can still be seen. Sold as a national asset during the French Revolution, the abbey was transformed into a cotton mill and then a stone sawmill. Both businesses failed, and the buildings fell into ruin. Entrance fees contribute to the preservation of the abbey by supporting the “Fondation Abbaye de La Lucerne d’Outremer”, the owner, which manages and finances the reception of the public, the upkeep of the buildings and the site, and restoration work.

On February 28, 1928, under the impetus of Madame Gabrielle Decauville, then owner, the Abbaye de La Lucerne was listed as a Monument Historique. Since 1959, La Lucerne Abbey has been undergoing restoration. Under the aegis of Abbé Marcel Lelégard (1925-1994), the Fondation Abbaye de La Lucerne d’Outremer continued to rebuild the medieval monastic complex. The Romanesque abbey church with its western portal, the Romanesque washbasin – the only one of its kind in Normandy – the cross-vaulted cellars, the refectory surmounted by an upside-down ship’s hull frame made of oak panellingne, the gatehouse with the former courtroom and bakery, the salle des Hôtes, the tithe barn and the dovecote, give visitors an insight into La Lucerne’s medieval monastic complex. The visit is rounded off by the extension of the site to the edge of the forest, with the eastern gate and the abbey dwelling dating from the late 17th – early 18th centuries.