Travel Guide Villaines-La-Gonais

Situated on a spur-shaped hillside, between the left bank of the Huisne and the ancient Le Mans/Chartres road, the village of Villaines takes its name from the Latin Villa, which means vast farm, and from the Gonais anthroponym in reference to the name of the owner of this vast estate: Guillelmus Gonas. The settlement developed from the Middle Ages on the hillside around the church first mentioned in 1257. Although it is probably of Romanesque origin, the church of Saint-Hilaire was extensively rebuilt in the 16th and 19th centuries. Villaines-la-Gonais is a rural commune with a mainly agricultural activity. The exploitation of limestone quarries and millstones, which animated a craft industry for several centuries, is now forgotten. In addition to the church, the local heritage includes a wash-house and the castle of Beauchamps (private).