Le Plessis-Grimoult

Le Plessis-Grimoult is located some 7 km from Aunay-sur-Odon, 14 km from Condé-sur-Noireau and Vassy, 26 km from Vire and 35 km from Caen. It is 1615 hectares in area. In 1885 it had 200 houses with 600 inhabitants. The terrain is composed of quartzitic sandstone on the nearby mount Montpinçon, and schist and clays beneath the plain. Iron ore was extracted in the west of the mount to feed the forging mills of Danvou until 1810. In the eighteenth century these very important and were fed by the mines of Roucamps and Bois-du-Roi (a concession of Montpinçon), of Jurques, the Terres d’Enfer, of Saint-Rémy. The Revolution caused the abandonment of the iron mills, the closure of the works and the pits. However, the principal cause leading to the closing of the furnaces was the progressive deforestation of the country for the benefit of processing the ore. It was in vain that in 1555 the king prohibited the forging mills from exploiting more than 45 “arpents”, and limited the number of loggers was to seven. These limitations probably did not achieve their goal, and deforestation led to the disappearance of the mines. Many quarries also existed in the east for road maintenance.

The name “Le Plessis” comes from word PLEC – or PLECG in old French – which meant a wood surrounded by branches, and “Grimoult” was the name of the first known seigneur (lord). The parish is at the foot of mount Montpinson, the highest point in Calvados. This mount was covered with woods, and in 1842 the uncultivated southern slope was divided between all the inhabitants and is now exploited for timber. The parish has been inhabited since antiquity, and the Romans established a small camp there to supervise the inhabitants established in the plain.

This was located on the heathland of Plessis: it extended from east to west for approximately 80 metres and from north to south with a width of 65 meters. The ditch was 1 metre deep with a slope of 1 m 50. There were two doors opposite each other in the east and the west walls, with a roadway. Some traces of ditches suggest that another wider enclosure would have existed. This small camp could contain only garrisons of no great importance. Roman tiles, bricks and medals were found in the vicinity.

In the tenth century, Rollon distributed the country amongst his faithful followers, and one of his companions was to establish the strong chateau of Plessis. In 1047 it belonged to Grimoult, who after his defeat by the duke Guillaume was executed in his prison of Rouen. His goods were confiscated and given to the monks of Plessis and the bishop of Bayeux. The chateau, which was on the site of the current borough was never again to be inhabited, and has completely disappeared. The walls which were about 4 metres thick and made out of stones constructed in “fish-bone” layers, and bound by very hard lime cement, were positioned on a circular prominence. In the centre was a courtyard of 400 to 500 square metres, with residences all around it, and in the south a square tower acted as both keep and entrance with a drawbridge.

In 1074 the duke gave the barony of Plessis to his brother Odon, bishop of Bayeux. Following the request of Richard Samson chaplain of the chapel of the chateau, Bishop Richard of Dover, donated this chapel and other goods to establish a community of canons of the Order of St Augustine, and had them build a church dedicated to St Etienne. The dukes of Normandy and many seigneurs joined in this donation and the priory was founded one km to the south of mount Montpinson and west of the chateau of Grimoult and the town. A convent of nuns was founded on the southern side next to the priory, but following disturbances which resulted from this proximity, this monastery was removed and its materials used for construction of the priory church. It was started at the beginning of the 12th century, and according to legend it took 33 years for 33 workmen to build it. It had three naves, the largest being vaulted, was 42 metres in length, 6 m wide and 16 m high. The side aisles were 3 m wide and 7 m high, surmounted by a gallery. The choir ended in an apse with a cupola and frescos. According to the practice of the time it faced towards the East with two square towers 26 m high and a wooden bell-tower 7 m high. Between these two towers, a gate carried a life-sized statue of St Augustine in stone.

The abbey at the height of its splendour.

A part of the buildings and the furniture of the church were destroyed during the wars of religion (1562) and remaining furniture was in sorry state in 1793. The north tower collapsed due to lack of maintenance about 1780, and at present there remains only the south tower, without any roof.

The remaining tower, which was not destroyed during the Revolution.

In the middle of the church another square tower of the same height contained 4 bells, the remains of which were melted to make the bells of the current church and a clock chime.

In the choir was an iron grille with the armorial bearings of the abbey, and on each side a double row of stalls in oak. It had three chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St Sacrament and St Roch, respectively.

In 1789, the abbey had a revenue of 25 000 livres, of which the “Abbé Commandataire” received the third, it was very richly furnished with sacred vessels and ornaments and many goods including eighteen ponds, 39 regular and secular dependent beneficiaries. The Commandatory Abbot was a Mr. Duprat who resided in the parish of Se Genevieve in Paris, and not more that four monks remained in Plessis, with parts of the abbey in ruins for lack of repairs. The decree of February 20, 1790 dissolved the convents, and the priory and its dependences were sold with the profits going to the state. The church, being in bad condition, was demolished and its stones were used for constructions in the vicinity. Many skeletons of monks, notable and even children were found during building work, the abbey not having a cemetery

Those parts of the buildings which had survived the wars of religion, the avarice of the abbots commendataires (of whom Bishop Bossuet of Meaux was known for his funeral orations), and the revolution, were destroyed in 1944 by British artillery during the violent engagements to take the radar station on Mount Pinçon – the German army having decided to install artillery on the entrance porch of entry and the surviving tower. This important installation, built by the Todt organization with prisoners and some workers requisitioned from the surroundings, allowed the monitoring of the flights leaving bases in the south of England.

The British of XXX Corps entered Aunay-on-Odon on August 5, in front of Mount Pinçon, 365 m in height and a key position in the sector, and the Germans resisted. On August 6, about midday, the British attacked, but the mortars and the German machine-guns stopped the offensive of two battalions of the 129th Brigade of the 43rd Wessex division. At the end of the afternoon some tanks of the 13th et18th Hussars broke through the German lines and reached the top; but it needs the infantry of the Battalion of the 4th Wiltshires to consolidate the positions. During the liberation of Le Plessis Grimoult two Troops of 'B' Squadron with the 5th D.C.L.I made a feint attack round the flank, while the main body of the infantry just charged straight down the hill on to the village with tremendous dash and took a number of prisoners, and the first "King Tiger" of the war. (Thanks to C. Newton) The 7th August the British took Plessis-Grimoult. The Duke of Cornwall’s column in the square opposite the town hall marks the relief of Plessis-Grimoult on August 7, 1944 by the 5th Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry supported by the 43rd Wessex Division. Memory

The memorial of the 13th and 18th Royal Hussars on the Mount-Pinçon is in memory of the soldiers who fought in these units. The taking of the mount and the station, of which it was not possible to obtain details, was to cost the life to many British soldiers, the survivors having recently financed a memorial to their heroism, nowadays forgotten. There remains very little trace of the station, now inaccessible for lack of maintenance, and the inhabitants, after the Liberation, plundered the unit going as far as tearing off the tiles.

Today, only the tower, a small part of the very beautiful chapter house and a damaged part of the gateway remain. Only some foundations demarcate the importance of this abbey which was most beautiful of the Vire Bocage region.

View of the entrance porch, partially destroyed in 1944, with the chariot door on the left and pedestrians’ doorway on the right

Some photos of what remains after the wars, the avarice of the monks, the revolution and the liberation of 1944.

View of the remaining part of the Chapter House

The park, in which the ponds and fortified garden are to be found.

Unique in France, the ruins of the site of a fortified garden dating from the middle ages. Owing to a lack of finance, excavations have not yet been undertaken.

A description from 1857 (A. of Caumont)

Le Plessis-Grimoult, Plesseium Grimaldi

Plessis-Grimoult, located at end of vast, high moor (approximately 1100 feet above sea level) from where one discovers a considerable extent of country to the east, and the north-east – particularly the mouth of the Seine, Le Havre and the cliffs which border it – is the most interesting localities of the department.

The parish church has the shape of a right-angled parallelogram; it belongs mainly to the Romance style. Between the nave and the choir, the triumphal arch has its archivolt decorated with mouldings in zigzag and semi-cylindrical projections. The columns which support this archivolt offers beautiful capitals decorated with interlaced sheets and fruits. They were unfortunately mutilated during the erection of two altars and two statues at the end of the nave, at the entrance to the choir. The choir is vaulted and is divided into two spans as in the majority of the rural churches; the columns which divide the first span from the second have capitals of the same style as the others. The windows were recut and widened on the south side; the walls were underpinned on the same side. A part of the walls of the nave are built in “fish-bone” style, and the side door, in the south, has its archivolt decorated with stars; the remainder was also underpinned.

A porch, in the west, precedes a curved doorway without mouldings. This porch does not have characteristics which make it possible to assign an unquestionable date to it; it may not be very old. The side tower, in the north, is not distinctive either; it could however date from the 15th century, because the buttresses are applied on the corners; it is crowned by a slate pyramid.

There exists in the treasure of the church a beautiful chalice which one believed to have belonged to Bossuet who was the Prior of Plessis. But Mr. Floquet, who went in Plessis to visit it, recognized that the date indicated by the inscription of this chalice does not correspond with that during which Bossuet was given this benefit; one cannot thus claim that it was he who donated this chalice.

The church is under the patronage of St Etienne. The Prior of Plessis is named as the parish priest.

The baronetcy of Plessis with its memberships formed part of the domain of the bishopric of Bayeux. Béziers teaches us that Bishop Pierre de Vilaine was upheld in his rights of jurisdiction with respect to this barony and that the royal officers who had contested it were sentenced in the assizes of Caen, held on the Friday after Lent in 1349.

King Louis XI set it up in high justice by letters of 1477, in consideration of the Bishop of Bayeux, patriarch of Jerusalem. Thereafter the honours of the barony were yielded to Matignon, the Comtes de Torigny.

At some distance from the parish church one finds the remainders of the Chateau of Grimoult du Plessis, of which I will give a description. It is known that this powerful and extremely rich seigneur was one of the principal leaders of the conspiracy which wanted dethrone the Duke Guillaume and with whom he fought at the battle of the Val-des-Dunes in 1047. He wanted to rally some of the conspirators after this decisive battle, but he was captured prisoner and taken to Rouen. He was later found strangled in the dungeon.

After the death of Grimoult du Plessis, all his possessions were confiscated and given to the Notre Dame of Bayeux and to various seigneurs to reward of their fidelity. The donation was given to the church of Bayeux in the year 1074. Odon de Conteville, then the bishop, twin brother of Guillaume, linked the barony of Plessis with the bishop’s manse. The bishop employed a great part of these goods to found seven emoluments in the cathedral of Bayeux.

Later Richard of Dover, bishop of Bayeux, founded the priory of Plessis and the parish church gave him a fief and the lands of this parish; Henry 1st, king of England, freed these properties of these rights which were due to him. He also gave him, on his initiative, several parishes with their tithes, in the year 1130. It is at this time that the foundation of the priory is fixed. Henri II confirmed the donations and in 1180 obtained a Papal Bull from Pope Alexander III in favour of the priory and the churches of Ivrande, of Fresnes and Montsegré which depended on it and which he had exempted of charges and royalties. Henri II, bishop of Bayeux, ratified all these exemptions in 1200. The priory was held by appointment of the king in the last century.

We can count 32 priors since Samson, who was the first, to the abbot Le Mercier, named in 1758. The prior of Plessis appointed priests in a great number of parishes, of whom here the list, some of which now form part of the Department of the Orne:

Le Plessis - Roullours - Carville - Chênedollé - Truttemer - Montsegré - St Jean le Blanc - Campandré - Montchauvet - Arclais - Ste Honorine la Chardonne - St Vigor des Mézerets - Perrigny - Cauville - Proucy - Bernières le Patry - Maisoncelles-Jourdan - Estry - St Christophe d'Amfernet - Beauchêne - Claire-Fougère - St Cornier - St Jean des Bois - St Quentin des Chardonnettes - Ivrande - Bonne-Maison - Courvaudon - Bully - Feuguerolles - Fontaine-Etoupefour - Rozel - La Cambe - St Clément sur le Vey - Mondrainville - Noyers - Planquery - St Germain d'Elle - Bretteville le Rabet - Campeaux - Collombelles etc.

Remains of the priory:

When one arrives on the mountain of Plessis, on the side of Aulnay, one sees the ruins of the priory church, at the end of the moor, to the north of the borough. This rather considerable church had a transept and ended in an apse; several of the posts which I saw in these ruins had of the capitals which spoke of the 13th century. The general view here was taken in 1827; today one still sees a great part of what existed then, although some sections of wall have been demolished.

The tower, in the west, does not appear as old as what exists of the choir, at least it appears to have been improved; One sees turned capitals there; the platform, that I do not believe to be very old, must have been substituted for a timber-frame pyramid at one time, perhaps in the 18th century.

View of the tower and wall of the church before 1944

View of the western frontage of the chapter house before 1944.

One still sees all the Eastern side of the buildings which bordered the cloister courtyard; it is there that the owner Mr. Bultot lives. Here a sketch of the chapter house made by Mr. Bouet, but this room was shortened when one rebuilt or remakes partly the walls of the buildings where it is, and all appears to indicate that it ended, in the east, with a kind of apse; two doors opened on the gallery of the cloisters.

The capitals of the columns covered with contorted leaves must be end of the 14th century or more probably of the 15th. The other rooms at ground level are also vaulted; the columns with 8 sides have plain capitals which can be 14th century, but it is difficult to assign a definite date. One sees what looks like having been the kitchen, a room in which one sees a beautiful chimney.

The gardens and, beyond, the ponds, are to the east of the constructions that we have just mentioned.

To the west of those exists the interior courtyard of the priory; the door by which one enters there from the road must date from the end of the 13th, or the beginning of the 14th century.

Chateau

To the south of the priory, and very close to the houses of the town, are the ruins of the Chateau du Plessis. After the battle of the Val-sur-Dunes in 1047, all the possessions of Grimoult were confiscated and mostly given to the Chapter of Bayeux. The chateau was not inhabited since, and we can regard it as one of the types of the fortresses built in the first half of the 11th century. Unfortunately it is now in an extremely advanced state of degradation.

The walls were founded on an oval prominence in the centre of which was a court of 8 to 10 perches of extent. They thus formed an enclosure which followed the contour of the mound by describing several obtuse angles; and the whole of the chateau presented the image of an irregular polygon.

These walls were at least ten feet in thickness. They were covered by stones placed in “fish-bone” style; one saw there of distance in distance, but generally of three rows in three rows of the schistose stone cords posed horizontally and flat, like bricks in Roman constructions of small buildings. The materials which used the construction of these walls were bound by lime cement of an extreme hardness. The remains of the large door can still be seen. It had a semicircular arch, and was established in the walls of a paved courtyard, placed at the south, which probably acted as keep, and could only be reached by means of one drawbridge.

Remnants of constructions attached along the enclosing walls, inside the site, show that residences existed all around the central courtyard. This courtyard, which now forms the vegetable garden of a neighbouring house, was still paved little time ago. It was on a very low level compared with that of the terrace which supported the walls.

In the state of destruction in which one finds the chateau of Plessis today, one cannot say what the height of the walls was: there is no more than 10 to 12 feet of wall in the parts of the enclosure best preserved, and no opening there is to be seen. The mound on which they rest is hardly raised from 15 to 18 feet above surrounding ground level. The ditches which surround the rampart are still visible; a brook carries its water there.

To the south-east, in front of the fortress, was a courtyard or first enclosure which appears never appears to have been surrounded by walls; today it is a meadow; enclosing ditches, filled with water, indicate the primitive settlement.

Roman camp.

The small camp of Plessis-Grimoult and that which one finds in the commune of Campandré (whose name is significant) are placed almost at the top of two very high hills from where the view extends far towards the south, east and the north-east. From there one can distinguish at the same time the hills from the Pays d’Auge (Quevrue, Moult, Estrée, etc.), the banks of the river Dives some 14 miles distant, and even Le Havre and Fécamp; one still sees, at midday, the town of Vassy, the hillock of Bell-Etoils, and several other high points of the Department of the Orne. These two camps are very close, though in two different communes, and are of the same form and about of the same size. That on the moorland of Plessis, which is the best preserved, presents an almost perfect square of approximately 200 feet in length and 240 in width. The ditch has a depth of 3 feet, and the bank is 4 to 7 feet high, a little higher close to the corners; today one sees two doors opposite each other and it is crossed by a roadway.

Considering its small dimensions, the camp of Plessis could have contained only a rather small garrison; however, one notices on the moor some traces of ditches which would seem to suggest that a wider enclosure could have existed in front of and on the sides of the enclosure, but these traces are discontinuous, and it is not easy to work out the disposition of this last enclosure by supposing that it was complete.

Many Roman medals have been found at Plessis, in particular the medals from the time of Posthumous, Tétricus, Gallien, etc. I also noticed fragments of tiles with edges close to the hamlet of Saugsurière, to the south of the moor.