Located in the heart of the beech forest of Lyons-La-Forêt, the Mortemer Abbey was founded in 1134 upon the request of Henri I Beauclerc, the last son of William the Conqueror at this time Duke of Normandy and King of England. It was the first Cistercian abbey in Normandy and the witness of a prestigious past : this place of pilgrimage for many kings and queens crossed the centuries until the last 4 monks living at the abbey were murdered during the French Revolution.