The prieuré Notre-Dame et Saint-Étienne of Villiers

Henri II Plantagenêt, who was raised by his mother Mathilde l'Emperesse in veneration of the founder of Grandmont, founded seven houses within his domains. One of these was founded in 1162 in the parish of Coulangé under the name Notre-Dame et Saint-Étienne. The community was part of a network of hermits that included up to one hundred and sixty houses in France, three in England, and two in Navarre espagnole.

The first twelve hermits arrived in 1157, living in wooden huts until the stone buildings rose around 1170. The king confirmed the gifts with an annual rent of 36 livres from the royal treasury and approximately 100 to 120 hectares of land. By 1295, the house had about twenty brothers, six clerics, and a dozen lay brothers. However, the population was later reduced by a reorganization in 1317 and by the plague, which ravaged the region.

During the late 15th century, the installation of the commende system by the king meant that a secular official, rather than an elected monk, was appointed to manage the monastery. This system often left only three monks in the house to satisfy canon law. In 1780, the commendataire Louis-Jacques de Baraudin obtained the right to demolish most of the monastery buildings, leaving only the southern part as a country residence.

The house was sold as national property in 1792 and later purchased by François-Xavier Branicki in 1851. It served as a farm and a hunting ground until 1963. In 1961, the site was occupied by the Atelier de la Martinerie, a workshop for three art weavers.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons