Commanderie de Richerenches, Templar commandery in Richerenches, France

Commanderie de Richerenches is a ruined Templar commandery of rough tan, beige and grey masonry. Its surviving elements include a fortified chapel, of which the chevet of the present church remains, and a barn or Temple hall 32 metres long and 11 metres wide, buttressed and topped by a crenellated terrace roof. A small square window, a black metal lantern on a bracket, two tall arches and a short stone stair behind an iron gate are visible in the complex.

The commandery was founded in 1136 by the Templar Arnaud de Bedos, who received the site of Ricarensis from the local lord Hugues de Bourbouton. A fortified farm and a chapel, completed in 1147, were built, and the surrounding marshes were drained. In 1138 it became a Templar commandery with authority over other houses in Provence, and in 1139 Hugues de Bourbouton himself became a Templar and its commander. After the order's dissolution, the property passed to the Hospitallers and then to the pope in 1320.

The name Richerenches comes from the lieu-dit Ricarensis granted to the Templars in 1136. The village's truffle market, held on Saturday mornings from November to March, is a local tradition that draws traders to the square near the commandery ruins.

The commandery stands in the centre of Richerenches, in the Enclave des Papes, a part of Vaucluse enclosed within the Drôme. The remains are scattered through the village: the fortified farm lies at its exit, while the apse forms the chevet of the current church. Look for the stone bearing the name of Hugues de Bourbouton at the base of the apse.

The chapel retains medieval defensive features such as arrow slits that reveal how the Templars designed their buildings for both protection and work. This combination of military and agricultural function was typical of Templar commanderies in this region.