Its name is thought to be an alteration of forum (public meeting place). In 1981, in Champ-Royal, excavations revealed the remains of an ancient vicus (small town) covering three hectares with villas, thermal baths, porticoes and a forum. First mentioned in 1100, Fors is protected by its fortress, advanced citadel of the château de Niort erected by the Count of Poitou to delay the advance of attackers from the south. In 1494, the is Guy PoussardHis daughter Anne became the first mistress of the Count of Angoulême, the future Francis I, who is said to have built her a manor house on the site of the castel. Part of the towers were used to build a middle-class house in the 19th century. All that remains of the castle today are some ruins.
What to see in Fors
01. The Church of Our Lady
The 12th-century building is patronised by theBourg-Dieu abbey. Partly destroyed during the Wars of Religionworship is then held in the chaplaincy chapel for over 200 years. In poor condition in the 19th century, it was restored thanks to a gift of Marie-Thérèse de Francedaughter of Louis XVI. In 1930, a fresco depicting children and a bishop was discovered under the whitewash on the walls.
02. The old cheese dairy
At the time of the the splendour of the vine and following the construction of the Niort-Saintes railway line, large industrial buildings are being built in the heart of the village. A distilleryborn in the 1890s, manufactures a liqueur called la Cistercienne. The premises were bought in the 1950s by the Société fromagère Lestelthen taken over by Jean Reybier cheese dairy and becomes a depot for the south of France until the 1980s.
Other sights to see...
- The communal bread oven square de la Forge (former communal oven restored by the Fors Passion association and inaugurated in 2018)
- The La Pétousse arboretum and the municipal logo (coat of arms of an old family, the Mabouls, lords, then marquesses of Fors from the 17th to 18th centuries).
