THE ABBEY CLOISTERS
The Abbey of St.-Vincent was founded in 1065 by Anne of Russia, wife of Henri I., King of France, in fulfilment of a vow.
The abbey church was rebuilt in the twelfth century.
The tower, which dates from that period, is square; it has two storeys with very high dormer windows grouped in pairs on each front, which give a very light appearance to the general structure.
The other buildings belonging to the Abbey were rebuilt in the seventeenth century. Inside, an interesting cloister still exists, with a Doric colonnade, shown on the opposite view.
ENTRANCE THE ABBEY (RUE DE MEAUX)
After the Revolution the Abbey was turned into a hospital, then into barracks, and after that into spinning mills. In 1836 it became the College Saint-Vincent, counting among its pupils Marshal Canrobert and the poet José-Maria de Hérédia.
Many inhabitants of Senlis took refuge in the Abbey cellars during the bombardment of September 2, 1914. St.-Vincent soon served as an annexe to the hospital, which was too small to hold all the wounded. In the photograph (page [42]) we see the transport of the wounded being carried on by the Red Cross in September, 1914. This temporary hospital remained after the departure of the Germans, which explains the presence of the wounded seen in the foreground of the opposite view.