Abbey of Notre-Dame de la Roche
Built, according to a popular tradition, to shelter a statue of the Virgin unearthed miraculeusement by a bull. In 1196, Guyon, priest of Maincourt obtained from the abbot of Saint-Denis an isolated ground said "la Roche" to found a hermitage in 1201. Then in 1226 a community of monks developed to with it who were maintained by GUI 1st Lévis and became regular canons of Saint-Augustin. There in 1232, GUI 1st was distinguished at Simon de Montfort, in the famous crusade against the Albigeois, and made by charter a donation to build an abbey whose Thibault de Marly (holy Thibault), abbot of Vaux de Cernay, supervised the construction.
From XIVe century, the decline of the abbey of Notre-Dame de la Roche does not start, hitherto thrives thanks to the lords of Lévis. The wars, then Commende, caused the almost total ruin of the abbey, as long as at the XVIIème century, it was not any more but one chapell dependent on the lords of the manor of Mesnil, the family Habert de Montmor.
However until the Revolution, it remained very attended at the time of the pélerinages in the honor of the statue of Notre-Dame de la Roche. In 1809, following the division of the field become quite national, the statue was transferred to the church from Lévis-Saint-Nom. About 1850, Lévis-Mirepoix repurchased the abbey that they restored and reflect at the disposal of the orphanage of the Assomption d'Elancourt. One century later, the Sisters of Christ created a school of gardeners there, works continued by current horticultural professional Centre of which the amine activity places. In addition, religious masses and ceremonies are regularly celebrated in the church.
Copyright © Olivier FAUVEAU - 2001