theonlyD800inthehameau
Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau
The Corridor
Posted on August 11, 2017
Last week I visited the grand old Franciscan Abbaye de la Réau, which is currently undergoing substantial restoration. On the first floor of the accommodation block is this long corridor with, it must be said, rather palaial ‘cells’ (more like ‘suites’) leading off it.
The combination of light and shadow is what makes this image particularly suitable for monochrome treatment. Further interest is added by the model of a monk sitting on a bench away in the distance on the left.
Tuesdays of Texture: Ruined Abbey
Posted on August 9, 2017
This partly overgrown double arched window can be found at the medieval Franciscan Abbaye de la Réau in the Vienne département of France. It looks like it’s had some restoration work done on it, but there’s a long way to go.
Thursday Doors: Meillant (2)
Posted on July 27, 2017
This week we have the second instalment of doors in the town of Meillant. Last week we focused on the imposing Chateau, but we are ranging a little further afield this time – although to begin with only as far as the family chapel, which stands in front of the main house:
Just inside the entrance to the site is this visitor centre, which houses a number of miniature models of the chateau and other prominent buildings:
All the doors so far have been in more or less pristine condition, but these two examples in the grounds of the Chateau are rather more neglected – and mysterious:
Finally, because there is a town (or village at any rate) outside the walls, two examples of where the other half 99.9% live:
Thursday Doors 27 July 2017
Thursday Doors: Chateau de Meillant (1)
Posted on July 20, 2017
After a visit to the restored Cistercian Abbey at Noirlac, feautured last week, we visited Chateau de Meillant, a very grand edifice that has ben in the same family for over 500 years.
How they made it through the French Revolution without an appointment with Madame Guillotine I don’t know, but the current owner lives in one wing, of which this is the main door:
The rest of the house is open to the public and is richly endowed with period features, taking photographs of which is forbidden – not least because they sell more guide-books that way. On the outside, though, there are plenty of Gothic doors to admire:
Behind the chateau is what used to be the servants’ quarters:
and the stable block, which now houses a collection of vintage cars:
Next week more from Chatea de Meillant, including some rather less pristine examples.
Thursday Doors 20 July 2017
Tuesdays of Texture: Gargoyle
Posted on July 18, 2017
This gargoyle – I believe it’s in the form of a griffin – sits looking out from the roof of Chateau de Meillant, in central France. (Incidentally, I haven’t edited the colour of the sky at all – it really was that bright.)
Thursday Doors: Noirlac
Posted on July 13, 2017
Last month we went on a day’s outing by coach with a local group. In the afternoon we visited an ornate chateau (watch this space…) but we began at the restored Cistercian Abbey at Noirlac, in central France.
A slightly different take on ‘doors within doors’:
If anything, the interior is even more impressive:
Although the requirements of modern life can sometimes be a little jarring (that silver column is an air-conditioning unit, I think):
And it’s always nice to see the backs of doors:
Thursday Doors 13 July 2017
Tuesday Photo Challenge: Steps
Posted on June 27, 2017
Answering the theme of ‘steps’ this week is this dramatic-looking staircase to be found in the twelfth-century church in the nearby village of Saint-Martial-sur-Isop.
Although the ceiling has obviously been renovated, this steep and winding set of stairs leading up to the roof looks, if not original then pretty old. Not surprisingly, it isn’t open to the public.
More responses to Frank’s latest challenge can be found here: Tuesday Photo Challenge: Steps
Brooding
Posted on June 9, 2017
Monochrome helps to create a sense of brooding menace in this image of a medieval building in the French town of Chauvigny.
Thursday Doors: Nantes Cathedral
Posted on May 25, 2017
For the final instalment of doors from the French city of Nantes, we are looking at the magnificent cathedral, which has recently undergone extensive – and, I think, very sympathetic – renovation.
The first thing you notice about the external doors is how tall and narrow they are:
As I was snapping away, somebody had the temerity to walk into shot by coming out through one of the doors. At least it gives some perspective on how tall they actually are:
From the inside,they’re even more interesting:
…and any door within a door is worthy of a closer look:
Rather arrestingly, this door is halfway up a wall:
Door-shaped holes rather than actual doors on the Confessional:
Thursday Doors 25 May 2017
Thursday Doors: Confolens
Posted on March 2, 2017
After four weeks of the doors of St Junien, I suspect we’re all ready for a bit of a change of scenery so today the caravan has packed up and moved on to the town of Confolens, in the neighbouring Charente département. Like St Junien, Confolens has a modern shell around a medieval core, and it’s also on a river, in this case the Vienne, but overall – at least in my opinion – it’s a lot more scenic.
There’s plenty to look at, especially in the older part, so I might as well crack on with this first instalment, beginning with some characteristic sixteenth-century exteriors (in the UK, we’d call this ‘Tudor’).
Maintaining the careworn theme:
Although so as not to give the impression that the whole place is just falling to bits, here are a couple of more dignified – and blue – examples:
More from Confolens next week: perhaps some doors that have found themselves a good home.
Thursday Doors 2 March 2017
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