Cerisy-la-Forêt

‘Cerisy-la-Forêt’, often referred to as ‘Cerisy’. The name derives from the Latin cerasus “cherry”. It is a small village in Normandy, overlooking the valley of the Elle, and offering an unobstructed panorama over the Cerisy Forest a kilometer away.

The earliest mention of Cerisy-la-Forêt dates back to the 6th century. Vigor, one of the first evangelists in the region built a monastery dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul on the site of what had been a Druid holy site in 510 AD.

Cerisy became an important market town under the Normans, who build Cerisy Abbey. The abbey went on to consist of forty-eight parishes and eight priories, including two in England, (Sherborne and Peterborough).

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