Captivated by Ruins and a Happy Announcement
I’m a sucker for history. The thought of becoming custodians of a tiny snapshot in time is pretty special. And purely by accident, that’s precisely what happened to my husband, Jack, and I.
I vividly recall some of the thoughts racing through my head when we were first shown the courtyard ruin. Wow, fantastic! Wonder how old it is? Oh dear, is it about to collapse? And how would we maintain it? Is it a listed building? That’s bound to mean wads of legal French documents. A moat, too? Blimey!
Despite it seeming the size of a hamlet, we were smitten by the property and its land, and, as I recount in book two, Le Palizac did eventually pass to our ownership. A long while later, we tried to find out about its heritage. Frustratingly, we came up against lots of dead ends.
The local Mairie(town hall) secretary told us that recording the history of domaines (estates) relied on families passing down information. I guess that makes sense. Sadly, there is little archived information that survived the generations for Le Palizac, but there is some.
Aside from the ancient structure, one of our early shocks was to find that parts of the buildings we had bought were either severely crumbly or in need of a total makeover. We needed help. That came in the form of a mixed bag of eccentric artisans, whose exploits I recount in Fat Dogs III.
The crazy band included an architect who assured us that the courtyard was built in the 15th century. Easily impressed, I thought this was marvellous. Jack thought his guestimate was inaccurate, and as it happens, he was right. We recently learnt a little more about the background of our new home.
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| My hiking sticks are against the filled-in doorway to give you an idea of the doorway’s size |
Palizac, a feudal castle with surrounding lands, was the seat of a lordship in the 13th century. It suffered under the control of a neighbouring parish ruled by the despotic noble, le seigneur d’Elocroix. He levied harsh inheritance charges, grazing rights, tithes and drudgery from his castle nearby. Tensions ran high between the rivals. Inevitably, something had to give.
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| Claus-Paws Examining a Hole in the Wall! |
So far we haven’t found out much about the ensuing conflicts, although we do know they ended in disaster for Palizac. The tower, the wooden staircases and main walls of the great castle were destroyed. Was the devastation sustained during battle? I’m not sure we will ever know.
Centuries later, the responsibility for looking after the fortification remains passed to us, an honour we take seriously. We asked the artisan mason who had worked with us on our main house renovations to give us his opinion.
Patrick, habitually covered in cement dust, with logs for eyebrows shading his button eyes, is utterly wonderful. I tell his story in Fat Dogs Part IV. He starts work at what my Father used to term ‘sparrow fart time’, (dawn), which is somewhat less wonderful.
Patrick turned up with his rickety ladders. He had a perilous poke around the courtyard walls, pointed at some disintegrating Roman-style bricks and gave us his opinion.
“The walls would have been much higher,” he said. “The existing top level needs protection from further water and frost damage.”
Sure enough, the existing stone frames and horizontal supports indicate that there was at least one other storey. To preserve the shell, Patrick suggested applying a magical product to cap the top of the walls. This would prevent further water ingress. He was given the job, and the protective layer was splodged on.
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| My hiking sticks on the bottom ledge (rhs) to give you an idea of the window frame’s size |
More recently, we made another exciting discovery about our domaine, which gives me the perfect opportunity to make my happy announcement. It’s finally ready, Fat Dogs and French Estates Part V is now available for pre-order.
Among the mass of other tales, in this episode I’ll tell you what happened when an innocent situation became a matter of archaeological intrigue. Needless to say, I was thrilled to the core.
As for our other escapades, well, I can’t wait to share them with you. You’ll meet old friends and new, and find out a little more about how we ended up with such a strange mixture of animals. The book will be published on the 16th January. If you’d like an e-copy now, just click on the book to reveal the Amazon link.
Just the other day as I was finishing a gardening stint, I stopped to admire the magnificent old oak tree next to one of the courtyard walls. Its mighty girth suggests it was around during those fraught medieval times. Gosh, what stories it could tell about life here through the centuries. It has also observed the trials and joys of our lives here so far. And we’re hoping there will be plenty more to come.
Yep, there’s no doubt about it, ruins definitely captivate me as does our extraordinary French home. I sincerely hope you enjoy the latest instalment in our Fat Dogs adventures where more will be revealed!
7th December 2020 @ 9:15 am
Fascinating, Beth. I can’t wait to click on the pre-order link!
7th December 2020 @ 10:00 am
Thank you so much, Colin, and for being such a marvellous supporter of my Fat Dogs, I couldn't be more grateful!
7th December 2020 @ 10:11 am
How lovely, Beth. I can't wait to read about your discovery, being a sucker for history too. I'm very much looking forward to Book 5!
7th December 2020 @ 11:54 am
It's relatively minor, Val, but I was SO excited when we found it! Thank you very much, I do hope you enjoy book 5. 😀
7th December 2020 @ 3:44 pm
I can just imagine it ALL! I've pre-ordered, and it'll start my 2021 off to a great start, Beth!
7th December 2020 @ 7:47 pm
Can't wait! Love the pics and the story!
8th December 2020 @ 1:58 am
Thank you for the historical background on Le Palizac Beth you must be so proud to own a domaine that is steeped in history. I am a history lover especially architecture which is so amazing. It's wonderful that you and Jack have given up so much of your time and spent so much on lovingly restoring this crumbling gem. So looking forward to partV and more about your renovations and exploits.
8th December 2020 @ 8:51 am
Your such a good writer. How could I not want to read more adventures in Fat Dog 5
Love your pictures and your story.
8th December 2020 @ 12:31 pm
I'm sure you can, Nancy! Thank you so much for pre-ordering a copy, I so hope you enjoy the ride!! 😀 xx
8th December 2020 @ 12:32 pm
Thanks so much for reading the blog, Janet, and I do hope you enjoy the next episode in our adventures.
8th December 2020 @ 12:35 pm
Another history fan, Glynis? I'm a sucker for a ruin! Thank you for your lovely comments. Jack and I do feel very lucky to live here, and try our level best to make sure we maintain and improve our home in a responsible manner. And thank you, I do hope you enjoy Part V! 😀
8th December 2020 @ 12:36 pm
You are very kind. Thank you so much for reading my blog and for these lovely comments. 🙂
8th December 2020 @ 2:40 pm
Wow Beth, what a house, so much history, I hope that I am soon galloping through all your books to find out what you discovered (no spoilers please) Your writing is engaging. I've signed up for the blog.
Lindy
8th December 2020 @ 3:43 pm
Another intriguing blog Beth. You know I’m a sucker for places with history. I can’t wait to read about your discovery.
10th December 2020 @ 9:24 am
Thanks so much for signing up, Lindy. It's true, we do have history coming out of our ears here, it's just trying to find the time to discover more! I'm so glad you enjoyed my account, and do appreciate you reading it. 🙂
10th December 2020 @ 9:26 am
Thanks so much, Rebecca. Heh heh heh, yes, I do know. I tell a vignette in the forthcoming book, it's a taster for us all, really. I'm dying to find out more! 😀
16th December 2020 @ 5:39 pm
I just can’t imagine the fascinating and dauntingly challenging estate that you are blessed to call home. It has such an air of magic and mystery to it. I love reading your blogs and can’t wait to read to read Fat Dogs V! Thank you so much for sharing your life and adventures with us all.
17th December 2020 @ 2:24 pm
The exciting thing for us, Nancy, is that we have so much more to discover, as you'll see from my vignette in Fat Dogs V. Thank you ever so much for reading my blogs and books, I feel so lucky to have folks like you to share our adventures with. 🙂
19th December 2020 @ 10:17 am
Another wonderful and intriguing blog Beth, well done. I love all your History finds and the places you find look so quaint and typically French. Having recently visited your adopted Country I see your love of it, as we too fall more in love with it with each visit. Thank you for your wonderful books too and so looking forward to Jan when Book V will wing it's way to my Kindle.
20th December 2020 @ 10:24 am
Thanks so much for these super comments, Lindylou. We certainly feel extremely lucky to live in a beautiful place where almost every day brings a new discovery. I'm truly grateful to you for reading my books and can't wait to share our latest adventures! 🙂