Commanderie de la Villedieu, Templar Commandery in Élancourt, France

The Commanderie de la Villedieu is a Templar commandery with a chapel and surrounding agricultural buildings arranged around a central courtyard. The structures display Gothic features such as pointed-arch windows characteristic of their era.

Gui II, lord of Chevreuse from 1149 to 1182, gave the Templars a house at La Villedieu, the donation seen as the commandery's foundation; a charter confirmed by Arnaud de la Ferté dates from the episcopate of Jean de Salisbury (1176-1180). After the 1307 royal order, preceptor Raoul de Taverny was arrested in Paris and questioned on 10 November 1307. Dissolved in 1312, the estate passed to the Hospitallers, was attached to Saint-Jean de Latran in Paris in 1474, and was ransomed by Huguenot troops in 1567 and 1568.

The chapel, dedicated to Saint Thomas, is the only surviving original building, built of meulière stone and listed as a monument historique in 1926. Since 1971–1978 restoration the complex has served as a cultural centre hosting exhibitions, seminars and artists, and it also houses a restaurant. A stone carved with a Templar cross, found in the 1970s, is set into the facade of the building facing the chapel.

The site is now a multi-purpose cultural centre hosting exhibitions, seminars and artists, with a restaurant in the complex. It belongs to the syndicate of communes of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The chapel, the only surviving original building, was listed as a monument historique in 1926.

A stone carved with a Templar cross was discovered during renovation work in the 1970s and once marked the boundaries of the large estate. This find shows that such markers served a practical purpose in protecting and managing the lands.