theonlyD800inthehameau
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Thursday Doors: Maison de George Sand
Posted on October 6, 2016
George Sand was a noted 19th century French writer, known also for the glittering company (Chopin, Flaubert to name but two) she entertained at her house in the hamlet of Nohant, in the Indre département of central France. You can read more about her here.
Today her impressive residence is open to the public and a very popular destination for tourists and coach parties, which is how I found myself there recently. It’s got some nice doors too.
This is the gated entrance to the house; note the bricked up doors on either side:
The inevitable Gift Shop is housed in what looks like a former stable block. Not only are these doors a lovely colour but it’s unusual to see their inner side:
And here are a few more:
There is a formal garden to the side of the house. Rather incongruously, this ‘box’ of doors is plonked in the middle of the lawn. I suppose it must be art.
Thursday Doors 6 October 2016
Thursday Doors: La Chatre
Posted on September 29, 2016
On a coach outing last weekend, we stopped for lunch in a town in central France called La Chatre. I’m not really sure why, since it wasn’t anywhere near any of the places we were actually visiting either before or after lunch.
Be that as it may, perhaps it was the dull, overcast conditions, but it didn’t strike me as a particularly cheerful or attractive place to be, or to spend much time in. There was a sign pointing towards a ‘medieval centre’ – although we never got anywhere near it – so perhaps I’m doing it a disservice.
I think these doors rather catch the mood of the place:
Even these atrractive arched doorways are somewhat blighted by the accretions of grime at the top of the wall:
This grand house has a nice enough, if shabby, front door, but oh my dear, the shutters:
…and as for the tradesmens’ entrance:
Maintaining the theme of grubbiness:
But, to try and finish on an upbeat note, I liked these doors on an obviously recently refurbished building:
Fortunately, the afternoon was spent in rather more cheerful and picturesque locations, with doors to be shared here over the next few weeks.
Thursday Doors 29 September 2016
Thursday Doors: St-Germain-de-Confolens – the sunny side of the street
Posted on September 22, 2016
More from St-Germain-de-Confolens this week. I should explain that the village’s main (effectively only) street runs more or less north to south alongside the Charente river. In practical terms that means that on sunny afternoons the shadows can be quite harsh. However, I think the doors are still worth looking at.
This door’s obviously still in use:
Unlike this one, opposite, of a closed-down restaurant…
…which echoes the colours of the building that houses the Post Office. The modern door doesn’t have a lot to say for itself, but I like the strong geometric shape of the security grilles:
Finally, my favourite of this week’s bunch – gloriously decrepit, with the finishing touch of a rose growing next to it:
Thursday Doors 22 September 2016
Thursday Doors: St-Germain-de-Confolens
Posted on September 15, 2016
St-Germain-de-Confolens is yet another pretty little village that’s only a twenty minute drive from here at Tranquility Base (we’re surrounded by them, but who’s complaining?), although it’s in a different département – Charente as opposed to Haute-Vienne.
Effectively, it’s just one street that runs parallel to the Charente river. However, the doors are interesting and there are enough of them to need two instalments to dispay here.
You need to be careful stepping out of this one:
These two are actually next to each other in real life, as it were:
In this one, I like that the gateway echoes the shape of the door behind it:
The door’s okay in this one, but I was particularly drawn to the tatty shutter on the window at top left:
And finally for this week, you can’t help wondering if there’s a secret garden behind this little door:
Thursday Doors 15 September 2106
Thursday Doors: Thiers – Even(s) More
Posted on September 8, 2016
This, I promise, is the final instalment of the myriad interesting doors of Thiers, this time featuring the even numbers. The first is notable for its very elaborate stone surround:
I’ve put these next two side by side as they are like mirror images:
And these two because of their similar shapes. Note the ironwork above the door on the left:
Finally, judging by the debris in front of this door, something of a renovation project is going on behind it.
Next week we’re off somewhere closer to home that, on a recent visit, proved to be just as fascinating in the door department.
Thursday Doors 8 September 2016
Thursday Doors: Thiers – Odds
Posted on September 1, 2016
The second instalment of the doors of Thiers features those with odd numbers.
The narrow streets of the medieval centre are quite steep in parts, as you can see here:
…and here (not so old, but just as tatty):
Over time, street level has risen, leaving some doors with what could be desxribed as restricted access:
I couldn’t not include this door with the adjacent mural:
And on a hot day, this seemed like a good idea:
Thursday Doors 1 September 2016
Thursday Doors: Thiers – doors without number
Posted on August 25, 2016
Thiers is a major town in the Auvergne region of France. It has a well-preserved medieval centre and is widely known as the nation’s knife capital. I mean that in a good way: it is the centre of the knife (and, more broadly, the cutlery) industry. Just like it says here:
As I discovered on a recent visit, it is also quite possibly the French motherlode for interesting doors, both ancient and modern. In fact, I spotted so many irresistible portals that I’ve had to split them into three posts for sharing here; so, odd numbers, even numbers and, this week, neither. Doors without number indeed.
I particularly like the pastel tones and composition of this one (plus it’s an unusual doorway):
Just for a change, a pair of cellar doors; haven’t seen any of these for quite a few years:
There’s even a door where another door used to be:
Thursday Doors 25 August 2016
Thursday Doors: Mortemart
Posted on August 18, 2016
Mortemart, about a twenty-minute drive from here at Tranquility Base, is listed as being among the most beautiful villages in France, according to the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. It’s all a matter of individual taste, of course, and personally I don’t think it’s a patch on Montrol-Sénard, which is another five minutes up the road and has made many appearances on this blog, and not just on the theme of doors.
However, it does have a few interesting doors, including this one, my particular favourite. Who can resist a ‘two-tone’ example that also boasts a ‘door within a door’?
or a long disused one like this:
Or even this more prosaic example:
Thursday Doors 18 August 2016
Thursday Doors: Le Dorat
Posted on August 11, 2016
With a name like that, this town about thirtty minutes drive from here is surely crying out to be included in Thursday Doors.
Le Dorat is probably best known for its medieval church: the Collegiale, whose stonework is mightily impressive:
…and not just on the outside:
There remain some other relics of earlier times, including a good section of fortified wall, as well as this impressive towered main gate:
Outside the old and very compact centre of the town, however, there are plenty of examples of more recent and typical rural architecture:
Thursday Doors 11 August 2016
Thursday Doors: Limoges (second encore)
Posted on August 4, 2016
Previously I’ve posted a couple of doors to be found in Limoges, both old and new. For the sake of completeness, here are a few more.
These two are to be found in the old part of the city: formerly a street of traders, it’s now given over largely to art shops and restaurants:
This next pair I’ve put together as opposites: one bricked up and one disappeared almost completely:
And finally, doors old and new right next to each other at the top of this flight of stairs:
Thursday Doors 4 August 2016
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