Valloires Abbey

Valloires Abbey sits in the Authie valley near the village of Argoules, in the Somme department of northern France. Founded by Cistercian monks in the 12th century, the abbey survived wars and a revolution, and today draws visitors for two reasons: a rococo-decorated church interior and one of the most celebrated gardens in France.

Who founded the abbey, and why is it linked to the counts of Ponthieu?

Guy II, count of Ponthieu, granted land for the foundation in 1138, and Cistercian monks settled permanently at Valloires in 1158, establishing it as a daughter house of the great mother abbey of Cîteaux. At its medieval peak in the 12th and 13th centuries the community numbered around a hundred monks, and a first pointed-arch abbey church went up in 1226. The counts of Ponthieu treated the abbey as their family burial place, and nearly every count who ruled between the 12th and 14th centuries was laid to rest here.

How did the abbey survive centuries of conflict?

Valloires was repeatedly caught up in the wars that swept through northern France: it suffered damage during the Hundred Years' War in the 14th century, was attacked again by Spanish troops and during clashes with Huguenots in the 16th century, and was wrecked once more by imperial forces in the 17th century. Each time, the community rebuilt. The version visible today dates from a large 18th-century reconstruction, and Valloires is now considered the only complete 18th-century Cistercian abbey surviving in France.

What makes the church interior unusual for a Cistercian house?

Cistercian architecture is famous for austerity, which makes the abbey church at Valloires an exception worth noting. Its choir balustrades and the woodwork in the sacristy were carved in rococo, Louis XV style by Simon Pfaff de Pfaffenhoffen, an Austrian baron and wood sculptor who had gone into exile and settled nearby at Saint-Riquier. The result is a rare pairing in France: a Cistercian church wrapped around genuinely baroque and rocaille decoration, rather than the plain stone interiors typically associated with the order.

Why are the gardens as famous as the building itself?

The gardens surrounding the abbey were laid out by the noted French landscape designer Gilles Clément and opened to the public in the late 1980s. Spread across roughly 8 hectares of the valley floor, with more than 25 metres of elevation change between the highest and lowest points, they hold thousands of species and varieties of old roses and rare shrubs, arranged across formal beds, rose gardens, and a wilder, marsh-like section that echoes the natural character of the Authie valley.

What happens at the abbey today?

The monastic community ended when the abbey was closed during the French Revolution in 1790, and the property changed hands several times afterward. Its modern purpose began in 1922, when Red Cross nurse Thérèse Papillon bought the abbey and converted it into a preventorium for children, founding the Association de Valloires. Since that health-focused role ended in 1976, the association has run children's care facilities, including a home for children in difficulty and a therapeutic and educational institute. Part of the site remains dedicated to this social work, while the rest welcomes visitors on guided tours and at events organised throughout the year.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Valloires Abbey located? In the commune of Argoules, in the Somme department of the Hauts-de-France region, in the valley of the river Authie.

Can I visit the abbey and the gardens together? Yes, the abbey and its gardens form a single site and are normally visited on the same trip.

Is it true that counts of Ponthieu are buried there? Yes, nearly all the counts of Ponthieu who ruled from the 12th to the 14th century were buried at the abbey.

Who created the rococo decoration inside the church? Simon Pfaff de Pfaffenhoffen, an Austrian-born sculptor working in exile at Saint-Riquier, carved the choir balustrades and sacristy woodwork in the 18th century.

Is Valloires still an active monastery? No — the monastic community ended when the abbey was closed in 1790. Today it is home to a children's welfare association and operates as a cultural and tourist site.