Sunday 22 July 2012

Keep Out!



This magnificent 13th Century tower is on the small farm/vineyard about which I spoke yesterday.

The lovely farmer's wife (also see yesterday) seemed quite surprised when I asked her about it. I suppose if you live with something day in/day out you become blasé about such things. But she was quite happy to relate this tale, which she found quite amusing.

The tower originally stood apart; the other bits (the winery) being added much later. It was built simply for defence during the early period of The Hundred Years War; when naughty Englishmen were out to conquer all they encountered. Whether this was under French or English control, I don't know; property changed hands often in those lawless days.

The story is that the 'Seigneur' (as she called him) had heard that he was about to be attacked, so ran up his tower and barricaded himself in with his valuables, family, and food supplies. The enemy fired arrows, threw stones, and probably shouted insults, but he wouldn't surrender. Eventually they decided to burn him out, and built huge fires all around the base (the scorch marks are still there). I presume that did the job, and they probably all died of asphyxiation. 

I asked her if they used the interior for anything these days. She replied 'no'.

If it was mine, I'd make a study right at the top, and would be typing this from there.... but it isn't mine, so it remains empty. Shame.


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14 comments:

  1. Ah, a birthday!...Penblwydd Hapus and enjoy!!

    Think of the light up in the tower...you'd be painting and drawing, not just writing!! It is like the towers in Scotland...a reaction to the same problem, n'est ce pas?!!

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    1. And those wonderful round towers in Ireland.

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  2. A birthday - why didn't we know about this - are you going to be celebrating - perhaps you could build yourself a wonderful tower like this on your property.

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    1. I'm being taken to my favourite restaurant for lunch, then later I hope to watch Mr Wiggins winning the Tour de France on TV.

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    2. Sounds like a wonderful way to spend a birthday. Enjoy!

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  3. Wonderful tower and an interesting snippet of history.
    Happy Birthday. Enjoy your day.

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  4. Happy birthday Cro - hope it's a very merry one (hic).

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  5. Maybe you gave her something to think about and she will decide to use the tower....Happy Birthday Cro.

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  6. Happy Birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day. Too bad you can't rent that tower out once in a while. It looks a little ominous to me, but fascinating all the same.

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  7. Merry Birthday to you Cro - hope that it brings all you wish for x

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  8. Happy Birthday, Cro.

    Great tower, and story of said tower. I can't imagine living in or around buildings that old. They knew how to build 'em then, yes?

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    Replies
    1. It is leaning a bit, but I didn't see any cracks. It's still a very solid building, and home to a large swarm of bees!

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