Abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Hautes-Bruyères, monastery in Saint-Rémy-l'Honoré, France

Notre-Dame-des-Hautes-Bruyères is a former Fontevraud-order priory at Saint-Rémy-l'Honoré, entered through the gate of the present farm, whose lintel carries the convent's coat of arms. Inside, the stables stand to the right, facing the barn that served as a hospital, followed by the priests' building with cloister, dormitory, refectory and private chapel. The priory church, built in 1778, was destroyed in 1794; the chapter house was replaced in 1798 by a house built from its stones.

The site was founded in the early 1100s when Bertrade de Montfort left royal life to settle there. It later suffered damage during conflicts, and after the French Revolution the buildings were sold and partly demolished.

The priory was the family necropolis of the lords and counts of Montfort-l'Amaury, who had previously been buried at the Priory of Saint-Thomas d'Épernon. Bertrade de Montfort, its founder and first prioress, lay in the middle of the church choir beneath a black marble slab set with a plate of chased red copper. Simon IV de Montfort, leader of the Albigensian Crusade, was also buried here.

Wear shoes suited for uneven ground, since paths cross grass and old stone. A walk around the perimeter lets you see the main gate and the low walls without entering restricted areas.

The priory was the family necropolis of the lords and counts of Montfort-l'Amaury, who had previously been buried at the Priory of Saint-Thomas d'Épernon. Bertrade de Montfort, its founder, was laid in the middle of the choir beneath a black marble slab with an engraved red copper plate. Simon IV de Montfort, leader of the Albigensian Crusade, and the heart of his son Amaury VI, Constable of France, were also interred here.