PARTHENAY  , a

town of western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Deux-Sevres, 27 M . N.N.E. of Niort, on the railway between that town and Saumur . Pop . (1906), 5615 . The town retains considerable portions of its fine 13th-century ramparts, including the Porte St Jacques, a fortified gateway guarding an old bridge over the Thouet . Amongst ancient buildings of interest are the church of Ste Croix, of the 12th century, restored in 1885, with a 15th-century belfry; the church of St Laurent, also restored in modern times, portions of whose walls date from the i 1th century; the ruined Romanesque portal of Notre-Dame de la Couldre; and i m. south-west of the town the ancient church (12th century) of Parthenay-le-Vieux . The manufacture of woollen goods and wool-spinning are the principal local industries .