This Cistercian Abbey was built in 1145 B on the remains of a 4^th century Roman village, which was built along a paved Roman road. In earlier days this road was the link between Lyon and Limoges of which foundations are still present today. 

Between the 4^th and the 10^th century the region was dominated by the Merovingers. A 5^th century sarcophagus was found in the courtyard! During these troubled times, le  Palais was occupied by various groups of people.

In the 10^th century religious hermits moved into le Palais. In 1134 they joined up with the upcoming Cistercian order. This strict Benedictine Order was founded in 1098 and ordered its monks to live off the land.  In the Middle Ages, they played an important role in the drainage and reclamation of waste land.

The monks wore a woolen tunic, were clean-shaven and lived off vegetables, water and bread. Cheese, milk and fish were only eaten on occasion. Thanks to an ingenious irrigation system with underground water storage systems, the harvest from the land far exceeded the need. The surplus food was sold at local markets and the proceeds were distributed among the needy.

In a part of the abbey, known as the hostelry, the monks received travelers and nourished the sick. They were fed bread and leftovers from the monks’ meals.

The glory days of the Abbey were between the 12^th and 13^th century. In this period the greatest expansion of the complex was realized.

The battles between Richard the Lionheart and the King of France, the flow of pilgrims to Compostella and the One Hundred Years’ War meant turbulent times in the region around Limoges. By the end of the 16^th century, the Creuse region was the heart of the crusades and le Palais was regularly plundered, destroyed and partially rebuilt.     

After the French Revolution, all monastries were abolished. Le Palais became the property of the Aubusson family, who turned the Abbey into their home. They built a trout ‘basin’ with a mosaic floor. Out of gratitude for the proceeds from the gold mines they built a chapel in 1830.

In 1900 le Palais was sold to an industrialist from Paris. Over the years the complex has changed owners several times and functioned among other things as a geese stock farm (1984).

The previous, Australian, owners, Annie and Bruce Edwards, transformed the Abbey into a ‘chambres d’hôtes’ and took care of furnishing a large part of the main building.

At the beginning of February 2002 they sold the 5,5 ha domain. Since then we have been exploiting the buildings as chambres d’hôtes and holiday cottages. The proceeds are invested in (overdue) maintenance and restoration.