A Visit to Cellefrouin, Part 2

I always like to get a photo of the village sign!!

 This sign doesn't warn one that there is a steep climb from this point, which is down on the "high street", up a track to the lanterne in the cemetery, higher up the valley. The road loops round between the two points, so it was lucky we were driving!

I have written before about Lanterne des Morts HERE

 This lanterne, as the direction sign says, was built in the 12th century. An oil lamp at the base of the spire was lit at night to encourage travellers to come and pray for the dead. It's all in good shape after so many years; it's not really leaning - blame the photographer!

Back in the main street, here we are at St Nicholas's church, an historic monument since 1907.  A lot of restoration work is now being done  and the church leaders are asking for donations towards the cost of €200,000! With only 500 residents in the village, much of the money to be raised will have to come from outside benefactors.

The church was founded as the abbey of St Peter about 1025 by Arnaud de Villebre, the bishop of Perigueux (a town in the Dordogne some 100 kilometres away - big diocese!). At this time, the it was likely to have been of wood. A stone building was commenced about 1060 and, so the scholars believe, completed about 1100-1120, to become one of the most important churches in the region. German Wikipedia tells me that it was spared damage in the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) due to its remote location but was attacked and damaged by the Protestants in the Wars of Religion (1562-98). Once peace was restored, the building was rebuilt and re-dedicated to Saint Nicholas in the 16th or 17th century. You have 700 or so years of history there in a nutshell!!

Signs of earlier archways and alterations on this elevation, next to the road.

  The west entrance, framed by a Gothic portal from the 15th century.  Frost and age have nibbled at the stone of the front doorway and one hopes that it will be fully restored. (A start has been made on the column at lower left in the photo).

The building's stonework is quite complex for such a small church, with its 3 naves and vaulted roofs.The main nave is above, but those pews look uncomfortable!

Two photos above - Unusual little features in the wall plasterwork. Good workmanship!

The baptisal font, I guess, all carved from one big block!

P.S. I also have a daily photo dairy, sometimes interesting sometimes very boring!  http://photodiarydps.blogspot.fr/ 

 

See also - My Life Before Charente Updated 06/12/12

A Visit to Cellefrouin, Part 1

Seeming at first glance to be” just another” lovely French historic and rural village, Cellefrouin, set in the steep sided Font river valley, seems to have more than its fair share of interesting features, some of which I will show you in this pictorial ramble and some in part 2, as there is too much for one post!

This is the local  map for walkers, a common feature of Charente villages and erected for the benefit of the many French and foreign visitors who enjoy rambling through the totally unspoilt scenery!

Using this information, we took this small untarred back road, parallel to the river, to see if we could find the watermill reputed to exist in a nearby hamlet. No luck with that, but then another delight appeared around a corner!

This charming but neglected little building next to the river is, I believe, the last remnant of the railway halt which served the village. That must have been a long time ago, as there is no indication of where the track used to run, save for the nearby river bridge (below), across which the railway must have passed.

The river Font, flowing westwards.

The village's old weighbridge. As you will have seen from earlier blogs, the  authorities like to preserve the old ways of life and these little features are generally well-kept, some even boasting flower baskets  in the summer!

The hotel and restaurant on the main road through the village. This forms quite a busy route for lorries, as the road takes non-motorway traffic, following the river's course, west to east across the area. On the chilly but dry November day we visited, all downstairs shutters were closed up, as you can see! Many such businesses shut down for holidays before Christmas and this could be the reason for the lack of activity.

Almost next door is the Mairie, presumably closed for lunch! A grand building for a relatively small village of 500 or so inhabitants.

Just across the road, we saw this lovely fountain and water trough. Below and to the left in the picture, a little stream runs  downhill in a deep channel, away to the main river.

With my liking for mysterious windows and doors, I just couldn't resist this example, set in a huge stone block for some forgotten reason!!

Iron gates in unmistakable French style, but these need some TLC!

and last but certainly not least in  Cellefrouin part 1, the War Memorial. 

Part two to follow next week with more places of interest in the village.

P.S. I also have a daily photo dairy, sometimes interesting sometimes very boring!  http://photodiarydps.blogspot.fr/ 

 

See also - My Life Before Charente Updated 27/11/12