Journees du Patrimoine (heritage weekend) in the Perche

[breeze]

The third weekend of September is the Journees du Patrimoine in France, two days when historic buildings, some of them private, open to the public.

They can range from a restored village bread oven to a chateau.

We like to spend this weekend in the Perche region, which is mostly in the department of the Orne–as far southeast as you can go in Normandy.

This is a scenic region of rolling hills, forests, green pastures dotted with apple trees and dairy cattle. Bucolic is the word that springs to mind.

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But what makes the Perche special as far as we are concerned is a particular architecture, the stone manor houses of the fifteenth century. Hundreds of these survive, most in private hands. A house-and-garden nut like me jumps at the chance to get a closer look. Here's an example from a previous year.

[breeze]

The list changes each year. 2015 was our eighth J du P weekend in the Perche, and we’re still finding new places to visit.

Ordinarily when we go to France we don’t do much. Walk two or three times a day, eat well two or three times a day. Drive from one flowery village to another. Take it easy.

This weekend is the only time I feel the need to hustle. We want to cram in as much as possible.

It takes planning. The national Journees du Patrimoine website is no help on the village level. We have to collect fliers from every local tourist office in advance and then the Thursday before the weekend we buy the local newspaper, which lists just about everything.

It takes me about a day to decide on everything we might want to see, make sense of the open hours, find each place on a detailed map, and figure out a reasonable route with not much backtracking. Impossible! Luckily my husband E is willing to drive ridiculous distances, zigging and zagging, to fit it all in.

On Friday night I go to bed confused but with everything on paper, and on Saturday morning I wake up with a rough plan.

Usually the plan goes awry within an hour or two, since everybody takes the open hours as a suggestion, not a promise.

[breeze]

It went awry immediately on Saturday morning. Our first stop was the lovely hilltop town of Belleme, for Metiers d’Art, whatever that means. I had hoped it would mean we’d get to see the famous chocolatier Charles Bataille at work, or look behind the scenes at the town’s award-winning boulangerie, but instead it was people with things to sell, mostly things they’d made. At 9 am only one place was set up, selling organic insulation. So here’s a photo of a pretty gate.



A garden near Chemilli was supposed to open at 10 but by 10:15 but there were still no signs of life, not even a sign on the gate to say whether they’d be open or not. So I took a few photos and went away miffed.

[breeze]

The highlight of the morning was the Manoir de la Gauberdiere. The owner was our guide, and she knows the place intimately since their restoration had been going on for years and they are taking care to do it right.

She was able to recommend specific experts for masonry, plumbing, and so on for those of us who’d be winning the lottery. As you can see by the photo, work is ongoing.



Madame’s voice was clear but her French came too quickly for us. Still, we’re used to being in the dark in France. She started with the history of the place. We understood that this is a typical manoir of the Perche of the late 15 century. On the main building she pointed out the fenetres a meneaux, the little stone sculptures around the door, and the carved emblem above the door.

She showed us the simple freestanding chapel. Then we walked completely around the main building. The ancient toilets, up high, were used not just for human waste but for garbage, so some interesting finds turned up during renovation. The house now has a geothermal heat pump, using “the clear air of the Perche,” she said, to heat their house. She showed us the bread oven in the kitchen. Then she led us up the spiral staircase in the tower to the top floor, with original roof beams in good condition. She used the term “double faitage” which I think means two sets of roof supports. She pointed out a Saint Andrew’s cross, often used to stabilize the main roof beam. I’d seen one before but couldn’t remember which direction it ought to face.

[breeze]

The room at the right end of the main building contains the bread oven.

[breeze]

I must really like that front door.

Here's the chapel. I hope I don't show the front door again.



Interior doors.



A range of outbuildings and then a tree.

[breeze]

The owner at La Gauberdiere had said there was a place doing an excellent restoration, Le Logis du Moullins at St Remy du Val, so we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go there instead of whatever we’d planned.

On our way we passed by the garden at Chemilli and thought we’d give them another chance. Aha! The gate was open, so we pulled in. We parked in very classy company, an old Jaguar and other older luxury cars. Got out and prepared to soak up the garden, but the owner came over and told us this was a private event for an auto club, that he was not open for the J du P. (The newspaper had led us astray.) He kindly offered to let us see the garden the next morning, but we declined, politely I hope, but I have a limited French vocabulary to draw on so I probably sounded brusque.

So, slightly disappointed again, we headed for the Logis du Moullins. Passing through St Remy du Val we saw a sign for Ruines et Panorama and followed it but didn’t see either ruins or panorama. I asked a woman gardening if she could give us directions. She put down her rake and said she’d show us. She was a delightful guide for the next hour. She was able to speak English occasionally, but when she couldn’t we bumbled along as usual. She took us to the panorama of the beautiful Sarthe fields and hills. We walked by the sparse ruins of a castle the English had destroyed. We climbed a steep hill to a church, and on the other side of it we were back in town. She recommended the town’s rural museum that explains the hemp process (not cannabis, she said with a laugh). We three walked back to our car and her garden. That encounter more than made up for the garden disappointment.

Then we got to the Logis du Moullins, which was remarkable.

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It seemed to me that this must be the pinnacle of restoration. Everything has been done very carefully and accurately. If the owners and their team didn’t know what a particular door had been like, they didn’t put in a replacement. The owners (she English, he French) started the renovation in the 1990s, I think not knowing what they were getting into. I can see how they fell in love with the buildings and the hilltop location.

This was first a priory and later an abbot’s residence. There are three main buildings–the logis itself, a chapel, and the last free-standing aisled hall still in existence in France. This big hall dates to 1300-1340 and is where everybody hung out. If you were on the domain and weren’t working, you would be in this hall. It had light-giving windows at one end, for the nobles, and darkness at the other, where the rest of us sat.

[breeze]

They are about to re-do a wall that had been torn down long ago and rebuilt randomly. They’ve identified angle stones and window supports. They’ll take down the wall, lay out the stones, put the ones they’ve identified in the correct position, and then work out the rest of the jigsaw puzzle before putting the wall back up.

There was a group of people in period costumes, including the owners. Most people chose to dress fairly lavishly. I admired the guy willing to dress as a bumpkin. Let’s face it, most of us would have been bumpkins in those days.



We visited the chapel and met the man who has built all the doors and woodwork. A woman was doing calligraphy.

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Our guide explained the exterior of the house, including gun slits for defense, one of them angled to protect the front door. Not sure what the guide’s headgear is meant to indicate, but it shows that he was able to afford quite a length of fine cloth. I couldn't figure out how it was made or how he kept it on.





Saw two big rooms of the downstairs, a kitchen and living room. The living room had windows only at one end (it was built in dangerous times) and a big fireplace at the other. The family lives there so it’s nicely furnished.

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There was an explanation of armor, weapons, and combat. A man and woman, both in armor, fought with swords, followed by two men who did the same. They quickly got winded. I guess they don’t swing those heavy swords every day. The modern reproductions of helmets and armor are made in eastern Europe.





This turned out to be one of my all-time favorite Journees du Patrimoine visits.

[breeze]

And so we bid a fond farewell to the Logis du Moullins.



One last stop for the day, the potager of the Chateau at Maison-Maugis. This is a huge walled garden of fruit trees and bushes, vegetables, and ornamentals. An outbuilding of the chateau holds a school of botanical illustration where we saw an exhibit of delicate watercolors.

[mossie]

Fascinating Breeze. Don't worry about repeating that door, it is very unusual That is the best thing about plans, when they don't work out.

[bjd]

Interesting photos and commentary, Breeze. My father-in-law's family comes from Sarthe/Mayenne, so I have been in the area many times. I didn't know there were all those old castles and manor houses though.

[bixaorellana]

Fascinating, Breeze, and wonderful photos and commentary!

Looking at your pictures with the explanation really makes it easier to envision settings I've read about in histories and novels. Speaking of which, that man's red headgear looks oddly familiar -- I must have seen in it in a painting or illustration somewhere. And, as far as clothes go, I will now forever picture you in that gracefully flowing blue dress from the fond farewell to Logis du Moullins photo.

[breeze]

Mossie, now that I think about it, I make plans every day of my life and they don't work out. What doesn't get done today doesn't get done tomorrow either.

bjd, we wonder why the Sarthe and the Mayenne seem to be overlooked by a lot of visitors. They are beautiful but I guess not exciting enough for first-timers.

On Sunday our first stop was La Grotte de la Mansonniere, a cave used at one time to quarry building stone, then briefly as a dance hall, then to grow mushrooms. Now it’s home to a colony of bats and open only once a year to a limited number of visitors. This tour was remarkable mostly for being cold and dark, and for the geologist so on top of his material that he talked nonstop for the whole time we were in the cave, over an hour.

We were given hair coverings and protective helmets and into the cave we went, 20 visitors led by the informative geologist carrying a strong light and followed by his colleague, also with a strong light. E decided very quickly that this was not for him and turned back, escorted by the rear guide.

I was warmly dressed with long johns and every jacket I’d brought on the trip. I needed my flashlight now and then since the ground was uneven. The ceilings were high enough for walking except once we had to clamber over a narrow barrier of rocks. The guide offered an option to go an easier way but I decided to forge ahead with the group. I definitely did not want to be off on my own.

I wasn’t able to keep track of direction. I don’t think we went up or down too far.

I understood some of the explanation (but E, reading the literature outside, learned more). We saw a marking of "1640 H Petit" indicating they’d been taking building stone out of the cave at least that far back. Quarrying went on till about WW I, when better transport meant that people could bring higher quality stone in from farther away. We saw one bat in the ceiling. There are about 600 bats now, E said.

At the end of the tour when we got in sight of the blessed exit door, our guide stopped in confusion. Wrong exit. We all turned around and followed him down another passageway. Another wrong exit. He tried again. He didn’t seem like a jokey person, so presumably he really wasn’t sure which exit to use.

After lunch we went back to Belleme to give the Metiers d’Art another chance. Then we walked to the Chapelle Saint-Santin. As usual, we were early. A pleasant man in his Sunday suit unlocked the gate and was surprised to see us waiting. “You are punctual!” Well, we’re optimists.

The chapel is plain but complicated. It’s a split-level church. The altar part is built over a very old crypt. The congregation sits at mid-level. From there you look straight ahead at the entryway leading down to the crypt, and you look up 10 steep steps to the altar which is built over the crypt. There are some pale frescoes. I had taken binoculars on the trip for just this reason and used them here.

We had two more stops we might be able to fit in, farther north toward La Ferte-Vidame, but figured the garden of the Manoir des Perrignes trumped them. It was on our way north so we stopped there. The building as seen from the garden may be my favorite view in France.

[breeze]

I don't know much about the Manoir de Perrignes. At some point in the dim past the buildings was divided into two parts by a wealthy family who had one more child than they had farms to bequeath.

I always enter this gate with a great sense of anticipation.



This is the front view of the house. The garden we're about to visit is behind the right half of the building.

[breeze]

bixa, that photo is me to a T, if I were younger and if anything about me flowed.

More of the manoir. I should say now that even though I promised you a garden visit, the garden itself is not at its best. That's okay with me since I love the house so much.

[breeze]

[breeze]

There are other garden rooms, several little water features, and nice trees, but I don't have current photos.
[
img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5736/22206064179_b9e8f8c9d2_c.jpg" alt=" "]

[breeze]

I'll try again with this photo.

[Deleted]

This is a really excellent report and shows many things that I have never seen. I particularly like the 2nd photo in #9 with the nun stuck in the corner (unfortunately, the first photo of #9 is not displaying for me).

Considering how beautiful these manors are, what is even more incredible is that the purchase price is usually far from impossible -- the problem is of course the renovation and upkeep. Anybody who wants to become ill with desire can check out this website: www.percheetdemeures.com/region.php#

[breeze]

My husband E does all the driving and I am the lousy navigator. It has always been a challenge using departmental-level maps to find these obscure places hidden down France’s million back roads. This year we had GPS so there was no longer any threat of divorce.

The GPS made short work of finding a private garden in Le Coudray, and I’m so glad we did. The design and plantings were inspirational. Now I covet a Rubus tibetiensis.

We plugged Reveillon into the GPS and off we went on the smallest roads. We found the chapel, known for its remarkable red frescoes from the 16 century. A man with a powerful voice was describing each one. They show Bible stories, St Hubert’s legend, the legend of the three dead and the three living, scenes of judgment and hell. Amazing that they have survived so brightly. It was cold in there and not just from the religious horror stories.

We thought that was the end, but I realized we could make one last stop, at the Moulin de Rainville. It’s now a private home. Where's the mill? There's just a hole and a steep dangerous-looking slope down to the water. Some nice flowers, a little museum, and a “Perche room” I think the sign said. It made me think, No wonder the Perche sent a large contingent of settlers to Canada in the 1600s.

I’m putting in a photo of the house just to show the typical architecture of the Perche once bricks became the affordable building material.

[breeze]

Oh kerouac, many winter Sunday afternoons I have trolled the websites of notaires in the Perche. I still do it, even after we decided we could never make the move. We'd be toujours nuls.

[bjd]

There are lots of Brits living in Mayenne. As the locals retired or quit their farms, Brits bought lots of the old houses and restored them. Even though I think the climate there is pretty crappy, I guess it's better than in Britain.

Breeze, I think the reason that it's not a very touristed area is that there just isn't a lot to see or do there. I mean, driving around on a weekend looking for old houses and gardens is one thing, but spending a few weeks of vacation with kids who want to go to the beach or something is just not on.

[bixaorellana]

Oh, Breeze ~ I can see why you so anticipated the Manoir des Perrignes. The house is wonderful, but I love the garden. Once the glory times of spring and early summer are over, many gardens which rely on the drama of flowers become quite drab. But the design and the choice of perennials for the Manoir des Perrignes's garden make it stately and beautiful even at this "down time".

Your bat cave story reminds me of when my sister & I visited the caves of Loltún. Our expert guide strode ahead wearing his headlamp, while the rest of us floundered and slipped in the darkness.

[lugg]

Thanks for a great report Breeze. Beautiful buildings, I was quite taken with the door too - wonderfully grand

[tod2]

I am so glad during my 'catch up' phase on Anyport I have discovered this truly beautiful report and gorgeous photos!
Never having heard of the Perche region I now will go and look it up on my thick book of Michelin maps of France.