WHY is it HERE? Discovering The Chateaux SECRET Past.
Bonjour à tous, in this episode Ash discovers more about the chateaux past and takes us on a discovery of the outbuildings. With bricked up doors, long lost tunnels and missing buildings, we still have a lot to learn and discover at the chateau.
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#renovation #hidden #chateau #homeimprovement #tunnel
The underground room with thick stone walls and attached tunnel, is most likely the ice-room. In Sweden these rooms were introduced from France in the 12th century, by the Cisterciense Orden from Clairvaux. Every chateau, big house and monestary had them. In December/January ice was taken from a lake in big blocks and put under sawdust to be insulated. Still there was a constant melting during sommer, which needed tunnels to gather the meltingwater and lead it outside. There should be a system of doors so direct sunlight never reached the ice. The ice room was made of hewn stone, very thick and should always be underground, preferably facing north. In early autumn the ice was usually completely melted and the room was dried and cleaned waiting for the next batch in December/January. In this way food and drink were preserved and kept cool during spring and summer. All the way up to electricity and refrigerators in the 20th century. Because of this system, it was possible to have ice cream for desert in the 18th century.
Reading through the comments after I made mine, same idea! 👍🏻
I had the same idea. I think there definitely would have been a place for ice storage on the property.
Your explanation was so interesting and I bet spot on. 😊 thanks
My old neighbors grew up in the Adirondacks and cut ice from their pond in the winter. The men hauled the horses and wagon out with bales of straw and cut the very heavy blocks then transported the ice to the ice house.They described their ice house as a cave into the side of the hill lined with slabs of rock. But the tunnels here look to narrow for a body to haul the blocks of ice in and out. It looks like a child or small adult has to get on their hands and knees and crawl in and out. Good idea but not sure.
And maybe the other rooms for drying out meats after slaughter??
If your schedule allows, you might invite some locals (farmers, history buffs, anyone who might have memories) to have a group meander around the buildings (and enjoying the Spring gorgeousness) and they could show your video to any elderly townspeople who aren't up to the ramble. Some old stories and working knowledge could pool together and get the town buzzing with possible ideas and memories. Have you spread the word around the town that you'd love a peek at any old pictures of the place? Is there a webpage or easy-to-access book or forum for locals to record any stories and memories of the chateau; a literal or virtual "memory book"?
Exactly what I was thinking. Local families might remember stories about life at the chateau. Local farmers might know how things were done in “the old days.“ And the ice storage comment above makes sense. Your chateau would certainly have an ice house.
Ash, you have an exceptionally well-designed work yard. In general, grand houses would have had: pig pens, cow pens, stables, coach house, possibly sheep pens, bakery, butchery, smoke house, laundry, ice house, water cisterns, root cellars, greenhouse and hay barns -- not forgetting workshops for farriery, carpentry, canning and salting food. These kinds of work places would often seem randomly built. Because your estate is so well-designed, that row of rooms could easily have accommodated many of those tasks. The upper rooms might have housed a couple of staff, with animals below providing heat so fireplaces weren't "needed." The room with beams pegged to the lower walls was partly rendered (clean space for animals?) and the upper room above it has a sheet of lime render hanging there (residence?) The end room looks like it has a series of pintels in the wall - could they have held dividers for animal stalls? And yes, the upper room with the peacock hole looks like a residence. Donkey's house was clearly a greenhouse/orangerie, and the next room was a perfect smokehouse, because whatever source of heat was used would have warmed both spaces. I agree with others that the tunnel space was an ice house. So, in this video you've shown 12 spaces for the estate's function. Any more videos on outbuildings would be welcome!
Maybe ask a couple of the older farmers in the area to visit. They may have had similar structures when they were younger.
That tunnel room is to keep water from infiltrating the animal stalls...in the winter when the water table rises it would seep into the stalls for cows and horses and water will rot their hoofs...also when an excessive storm drops rain on the Chateau then the water would slip into the tunnel and take it's detour instead of going into the animals rooms and giving them hoof rot or drowning chickens....
That would be kind of a forerunner to what we in the U.S. now call a "french" drain.
Thanks Kevin. That makes a lot of sense. 😊😊
wow. brilliant werent they
Kevin, 👍you got it right, I was going to say that exact same thing. I lived on a farm when I was young and remember some of these features.
Yes, lower parts of your land might very well have had water coming through odd places in the spring when ice melted. In Maine, in the US there were such annual “freshets” in the Spring. Our family’s farm, built by an ancestor in 1810 had, and still sometimes has freshets.
It would be interesting to see what an architectural historian in your region could say about the puzzling details of these buildings. I think they hold great potential to repurpose. Thanks for sharing !
Gates? There's another set of gates we haven't seen? Oooo! How exciting. Honestly, this exploration is utterly captivating. I'm enjoying the speculation as much as the tour, and I've never spent so much time reading the comment section as I have in the last few videos! I've learned so much. Thank you, Ash and Terry, for taking the time out of your more focused restoration to show us more of this fascinating property.
I love the idea of romantic couples accommodation, make them one story with a sleeping loft, a small sitting area, sky lights, composting toilets, solar shower and power with a small fridge and tea/coffee station, with wine glasses of course. The little cafe you mentioned could provide room service breakfasts & picnic basket lunches or be a communal kitchen for meals and special meals taken at the Chateau. Imagine waking up in that beautiful vegi patch with all the grounds to explore or just lazing in the sun or under a tree. LOVE IT!
Ash is a natural on camera. Well done narrating the tour. I love these chateau grounds and outbuilding videos.
Ash the room with the vent could have been a food storage room like veggies and such. It would have stayed cool most of the year. The room with hooks in the ceiling could maybe be for hanging onions, potatoes, or your idea of hanging meat. The farm would have provided all it's own food needs and need places to store all of it. Just some thoughts. Take Care
Thank you Marilyn. That all makes sense 😊
And it could have been for hay for the horses.
I think that room would have been a perfect dovecote. It explains the small opening and hooks for hanging nest boxes, etc.
I think Marilyn is on the right path- the more cold hardy veg would be kept in the last room with its ventilation, the centre room with hooks( those hooks are too small for meat ) is perfect for strands of onions and since there is that small metal door to the ' barn', that door would be opened in winter to allow heat from the animals to creep into the store rooms.
Yes!
This was fascinating. I would love to see the rest of the property. I'm looking forward to videos of cleaning all the debris out to see what's underneath both inside the buildings and outside. The loose plaster on the walls may be hiding more clues behind it. Thank you for sharing. Great editing too!!!
Thank you! All Terrys hard work with the editing 😊
I would like to know what your going to use the buildings for. Hugs from NY
I was thinking the same thing about the plaster!
Yes - I am sure your audience is interested in these explorations, as am I. Ash is really good at it.
You are a great tour guide of your property, Ashley! I had no idea there were so many buildings. You have a mini village there. I am looking forward to hearing about the history of the buildings. Great video! ❤
Thank you Noreen 😊
Yes, I had no idea your place had been so fully developed. Always thought it was sad that there was not more to it. How wrong I was!
I completely agree! Ash is an awesome tour guide! Terry brings you in with 'look at this...' & Ash just jumps right in. I too love learning more about all of the buildings & what they provided. (LOVE the maps! They are helpful) Im guessing the rubble in the forest was probably a mother-in-laws cottage or for the staff of any prominent visitor maybe??
in the time of the chateau, it took a small village to keep things going!
I think that the lower level was used for animal shelters and the space above for feed storage or sleeping quarters, the entrances to the upper floors were doors for access from the space in front of the chateau. Our old Napoleonic farmhouse in the Charente was built on a hill side and originally the top floor was for animals with only one big barn door opening at one end and the lower floor had doors along one side for the family to live in a series of rooms. On the upper floor there was a narrow entrance leading to the tower which was an access point into the animal section from the family quarters. It’s fascinating finding out about the history of your home.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a local historian who may be able to help you figure out what those buildings were used for!
The secrets/stories that the outbuildings could tell. Yes, this segment was absolutely amazing and would love to see more including old maps of the grounds. Awesome segment, loved it.
The tunnel is air venting, the rooms on the other side are for food storage, those rooms would be very damp without the air circulation. Each room would be for different food groups… meat curing, root veg, and possibly corn cobs etc. The vents in the walls would have had shutters on them to keep vermin out and every year they would have been ‘smoked’ by lighting a fire at one end of the tunnel and pushing smoke through to kill of rats, snakes etc within the tunnel and to keep it clean.
Ash you definitely have the best on camera presence. You are the most relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera. Well done!
The heat generated from the manure travels through the hollow walls to grow pineapples, during Victorian times like THE lost Garden of Heligan in Cornwall. So heating system of this kind is a brilliant way to heat to grow.
A dairy room? The gardeners cottage? A stall? Hay storage? Smokehouse?
I love the mystery. Every home should have some, whether it be a false doorway, wall safe, extra space with attic access etc.
Put a Go-Pro on Patrick's head and send him through the tunnel. Have a great little treat for him when he finishes. Or, maybe Pandora is more up to the task.
Thoroughly enjoyed poking around in this old building and rooms.
Thank you, we do have more discovery videos 🥰
Since the door opens to the what would have been a formal garden - chances are it was for gardeners to come and go with quick acccess to the garden and to disappear into when important people come along. Access for gardeners and tools and gardening supplies.
That makes sense to me too Kirk 😊
When you have the time and energy to clean out the rooms, your medal detector could help you find original artifacts that would give you clues to the purpose of each room if it has a dirt floor.
We will do that Bobbie :) 😊
What has happened to your Peacocks?
That was such an interesting tour...it's like a whole new world around there....if the walls could talk! I sure look forward to seeing you work on that! Thank you so much for the tour!
The stone steps are where the ladies climbed to get onto horseback. They rode side saddle and long skirts We have a lot here where I live.
You are breathing new life into this magnificent place! I can imagine all those who came before, smiling down with pride.
Yes yes yes please can you do more on the other buildings and gates it’s so interesting to see and hear what you know about the chateau and other buildings etc. just loving them.😀
Have a good possibility to what the “tunnel” could be on the last set of buildings. I actually have that in my house’s lower level, and house is less than 25 years old! It’s a ‘cold air chase’. An ancient building technique to help with moisture and temperature control. You have an outer wall built against the dirt below ground level, that most often has water and/or moisture on that wall so you build another inner wall a foot to two feet from that problem wall to help with the moisture issues. This keeps things drier and helps keep temperatures inside building a pretty constant 8-10C. If there is any piping in that chase it could have been used as temperature control to keep things cooler in summer - add cold water - or warmer in winter with hot water. A basic thermostat that could prevent the disaster of losing your food supply by just raising or lowering temperature by a degree or two. Last room in that building most likely a root cellar, as we call it in North America. No windows (keeps stored vegetables from sprouting in sunlight) and the few small openings you found provide a bit of ventilation to help with mold. Wood around walls would have been slatted shelving - slightly spaced apart for air circulation - to keep squashes and such on and wooden boxes you fill with sand to store you carrots and root vegetables over the winter. Apples would have been stored in there too. Everything built up off floor to help with rodent control. Middle room you are likely correct - meat storage. Metal turning grate, ventilation control and to help with rodent control. Likely added later. To big of an area to ever smoke meats, store yes, but smokers are usually a meter or two square - have to heat constantly for days and fire would make you have away from other buildings as a precaution. Other end room with big window openings could have been more animal quarters but I think a greenhouse with all that light. No ice house would have been that close to animal quarters due to sanitation. Would have been closer to your lake, hard work to haul large blocks of ice. You send your servant out to chop off what you need as you need. Could have been large pit in ground lined with clay and straw and wooden top or more elaborate stone structure. In first set of out buildings piggery - momma pig and piglets in one, daddy pig separate so he doesn’t eat babies. Possibly goats too. All small animal husbandry. Could have been living areas above ( heat rises from animals below, unfortunately so does the smell!) or gardening equipment storage or other storage. Might have gone through all those at various times. End room with small arch into lower garden terrace and lovely large arch doorway. That’s a puzzle. Have you looked at exterior wall above lovely arched doorway? Wonder if there ever was something like a wench to lower things down and up? If that level garden level was an orchard, perhaps that small opening was added to push baskets of picked fruit through then hoist down from lovely arched door to food storage area instead of having to haul it around further. Maybe they had a grumpy lazy gardener that wanted that but owner wanted something aesthetically pleasing so an arched small opening added. Same with door and window openings along wall. Maybe owner wanted door, window, door, window, window and door or some configuration that owner liked no matter if it wasn’t really functional on other side.
Wonderful perspectives
I have loved the last two videos and read ALL of the comments. I’ve thought for a long time it would be great to invite a class of architectural history students and their lecturer to come and camp at the ppty for the week, go away to do some research then make a video with them touring/presenting their ideas/findings! It’s sooo exciting! There’s been some great ideas in the comments.
You should see if you can find a Architectural Historian who could possibly come out, go through all the building and give you a good idea what all the buildings and features actually are...
WOW! Ivy will take over the world if you let it. Thanks for the tour
All of your thoughts and those offered by viewers are so interesting. There must be a historical society or a historian who has a reasonably good idea of what those “out buildings” would have been used for. I’m looking forward to a day when that big green lawn is grown in and you are all dressed in vintage costumes playing croquet. 😊
I am a little surprised you haven’t responded to my question on Tony. He has been a very important part of the Chateau’s recovery, yet at the moment it is like he never existed.
the tunnel is a cold smoker, if you make a fire at the other end, and throw some damp wood over the fire, I am sure that within half an hour smoke will enter the bigger room, then just keep feeding the fire until your meat is smoked through. I'm 95% sure of that, and it's something you can just try out. I'm pretty sure I'm right.
Thanks for another very interesting vedeo. The room with the ceiling hooks could have been for hanging game, like venison, pheasants, hams and root vegatables. The holes in the walls would have kept a steady air flow through the room, keeping it cool.
Looks like you have decades of projects to keep us entertained.
The old chicken coop that Ash is looking through would make a great bistro that could be opened a couple of times a week for the guests. It is I. A beautiful spot with awesome views.
Interesting vlog.I think the tunnel is a means to alleviate damp and mould in the walls.The rooms above with traces of plaster would have been human accommodation,kept warm by animals below.Maybe this area would be a good place for some volunteers to dig out the floors .Perhaps some archeology or farming students might enjoy excavating and know what the rooms are used for.Also contact elderly locals to see if anyone worked in them or had relatives who did. Contact Jonathan’s school,this might be an interesting project for them and the children might have grandparents or great grandparents who might know about the Chateau.
My guess about the opening in your paint-spraying room is that it was for hay delivery for whatever animals were kept in that stall. Some of those rooms could have been used to make or store wine.
The pigs, maybe a sheep and the chickens all needed someone to look after them during the wealthy days. The rich folk in the Château certainly didn’t. I think the the largest stone building was for a work hand to live in. He also would be a groundskeeper
It is fascinating to see these old walls and architectural features. I won't add too much to the speculation about what they were used for but I advise you to seek out local trained archeological historians. It would be worth the investment as you would be able to attach documented history to your buildings that will add to the marketability of your property as a location to stay at. A trained eye can read old ruined structures like they're pages from a history book. Most likely these spaces have had multiple uses over the years from housing for extended family, guests and farm workers to food storage and animal husbandry. The multilevel spaces are too high quality to have been built originally for use as simple chicken coops and pigsties although it was not uncommon to have poor people living above farm animals. The heat from the animals and their decaying manure would help heat the living spaces above in the winter. Good luck with your research and seek some expert help!
Agreed
Think the first buildings was for working and living. The workers houses were very small in the old days. Stable personal slept next to their cattle and hay, gardners slept nearby their garden, etc. Its not like this any more, but then it was how they lived. Hay went upstairs, and often lifted out of a window with door on the 1st floor (in case of heavy rain it will stay dry) One of my ancestors was a villlage sheppard in the 1800's and his house looks the same. yes it still stands. The orangerie is the part with the big windows, plants need light, the part next to it to hold working stuff for example. What a gem you have there, beautiful old stones and still standing. So many uses for those buildings, just wow. The small vent is for heating or release of heating!! Its cast iron or iron then its for heat. If it was an orangerie a heating system through terra cotta pipes went through it. Maybe you can see if you can find pieces of terra cotta in the small tunnels. If so, its heating with warm air.
The Chateaux's past is shrouded in mystery - this video aims to shed light on it.
Thank you 😊
yes a little cafe in the room with the big glass windows! Absolutely!
Absolutely loved outbuilding exploring , I’m astounded re their solid condition including roof. Loved all those little details you pointed out. Very impressive tour Ash. Let us know , someone’s got to know.
Do you still have the peacocks?
Yes yes yes more exploration
That hole leading to orangery can be a water flow to provide water to garden.
When you clean out the bottom of these rooms, you probably find some more clues.
I can't wait to uncover the secrets of this mysterious Chateaux!
Thanks Anna 😊
That looks to me what would have been called the base-cour or barnyard / agricultural hub for animals and where the agricultural equipment was stored for the chateau. I saw on Chateau de Purnon that they are restoring something that seems similar. This would have been where all the poultry etc was kept and where the staff would have looked after the provisions for the chateau. Theirs is hidden from the sight of the chateau so that it would not be seen by any visitors.
Perhaps as breaks from all of your hardwork, you could visit some chateau that have more intact out buildings. Or museums or recreated historical places where daily life is depicted. You might discover some of those features you are wondering about. Although not as old in the USA we have Plymouth plantation, sturdbridge village and Williamsburg.
I was just thinking that exact same thing! 😅
That is a good idea!
The buildings are amazing, so much history. I hope you can save them and bring them back to life! Thank you so much for the tour and please show us more! I would love to live somewhere like that!
Yes they used to have ice rooms and hallways to use in the winter to take care or the animals. They were connected to the house.
Part of that looks like something from a fortress..love your passion for the buildings. I feel it too
Wow just wow Ash.... these vlogs give such a good look into what you guys are trying to achieve by showing the scope of the property, you and your family have such an amazing property and watching it being brought back to life is awesome!
Very exciting! You’ve been given some very good suggestions! Answers will come!
I would love to see more. Have you consulted with the archeology dept of a university, it could turn out to be a learning experience for both the students and yourselves.
Think about how many things needed to be stored and you will find a purpose for every space😉. The hole that connects the stable to the next room is probably because the vegetables were kept there in winter, in order not to freeze them, they left the ventilation open so that the heat from the animals would also heat that room. The same thing also applies to the pigsty and the space next to it where sheep/goats probably lived and in the upper spaces probably either other food was kept, or the farmers lived there. I don't know about the tunnel, I don't think it was an icebox, it is much more probable that it was at the base of the house (like that hole found in the small room on the ground floor) because they usually kept meat there, which was precious and was hardly left distant.
Couple of thoughts - Hunting dogs & falconry were big in those days - wonder if any of those structures were designed for them..
I so love you showing more of the outbuildings on your property! Totally enjoyable!
The prongs could have been used to weave branches to make shade and break any wind?
Thanks Cassandra 😊
Donkey’s house would make a great common area for the camping people. Used as a showers and laundry area!
I remember you saying there was a Manor house before the Chateaux is it a possibility that those walls were part of the original Manor house and converted into the stalls.
I suggest getting Dan from Escaping Rural France I’m sure he can figure out what it’s all the buildings are about
One of those rooms could of been a smoke house, root cellar, or what we call in the USA a corn crib for livestock food.
I think the middle one in the orangerie was definitely a used for drying/curing 😊
Its so interest more please
Thanks Susan! 😊
They would have had a blacksmith area for shoeing horses and fixing wagons and carriages. They would have had dog kennels, wash house, summer kitchen, slaughter house. Hay storage, A threshing house where they stored the thresher and hemp bundles, they may have had a dye house and a drying house - like a kiln they can heat the underneath to have warm air rise to dry the crops, the hooks hold the rods that the plants/fibres are draped over. They might have had a leather curing area as well. The village would bring their goods to the Chateau to process them paying the chateau owner a % for use of the facility. some of the tunnels would be for sewage/drainage (ancient Greek/Scottish construction techniques). The structures for horses were really nice - like a really nice garage for your cars these days. There might even have been a building for processing cider from apples and other fruits. If you check the history of the area for what the farmers grew, what fabrics they used you will get a better idea of what buildings you had pre ww2. pre ww1. Some buildings were converted after ww1 and the others converted after ww2 when people could go to a store for most of their needs. Partridge was a staple at the dinner table at one time, they most likely had several types of fowl on the grounds. A fully staffed house pre ww1 had a lot of mouths to feed. The local Chateau was like a communal business where the locals worked for them or with them or made use of services/equipment in a barter. To imagine the place full of people all doing their assigned jobs from planting to harvest, taking care of the animals, milking cows, gathering eggs, storing harvest, processing food for winter, cooking, cleaning, laundry, baking bread, It would have been a very busy place. In some cases there were overnight attendants in the animal barns in a side room or upstairs from them - especially during birthing times and to prevent poachers.
A lot to think of and try and piece together. Think the archives might have some of the answers 😊😊
@@ashleywaters7198 The lifestyle of the common people who worked for Lords is very interesting and at times gives a better description of what things were and what they were used for than the stories told about the Lords themselves. Archives will have some of the answers, but looking to a few countries where people still live as they once did will answer a boat load of questions. There are few channels on KZhead where they have gone and filmed, some are dubbed and others you just have to watch and learn as the language is not translated and they don't talk a lot. One a woman showed the entire process of making a shirt from cutting down bullrushes to weaving the fibre to finally starching the collar and ironing the pleats without the use of a hot iron - fascinating! all the little and big jobs that tied into other jobs/harvest/grain/meat/carpentry/blacksmithing that led to the making of one shirt. It really took a village to make that shirt.
Thank you so much for the tour. I would have absolutely loved to live there as a child. So many possibilities for playing house, building forts and so on. I hope Jonathan has a much fun there as I would have. 😊
Thanks Lori. Sure he loves it 😂😂
I would talk to neighbors. I would find the oldest folks in town. Ask them to show you what they remember from the past and other old farms.
It seems the building with the closed up windows and door were for storage of the crop behind the building. It would quick access from the field to storage.
Hay to feed the animals below.
The walls show signs of remaining fine finished lime plaster. This leads me to believe that these buildings were not used for animals. Also, some of the openings have slayed interior openings which were ment to maximize the flow of light entering the room . This type of opening is usually applied in a room setting that would support more of a human use. Also, could part of the building have been a small simple chapel? The room with the rat tail hooks in the beams was used as a drying or meat curing room. The little square door near the floor is a clean out door for removing the soot created by a coal or wood stove.
Thanks Louis. That all makes sense :) 😊
I don’t think the chapel would have been here. I could be wrong though. Am sure one day we will find out :) 😊😊
If a chapel was on the property it would be as grand as the chateau but smaller. IMO.
I was thinking a small chapel too! Maybe Ashe’s comment about the stained glass window swayed me a little.
It could have been a cottage for somebody to stay in and live that took care of the animals and the landscape.
I think it might help, if you try to think about all the functions, you would have, to be self sustained. Both production and storage. And also, the manpower needed should have somewhere to stay. That might also include space for seasonal workers. Maybe, you can even find a museum, showing the everyday life in and around the period, the Chateau was built? Because if you look at the grounds around Chateau de Purnon, they have shown, that they also have a row of small rooms, sort of semi underground. Some spaces seem to be for animals, some for storage, so I do think, that there is some sort of a system there. If you identify the most obvious rooms, then you might be able to figure out, what the other rooms where used for? 😊
Ash It Would Be Great To no The History Of The Out Buildings 💕
Everything had a porpoise in the day. I think everything revolved around garden ,animals food. Horses accommodation for staff.
I'm having a lovely walk about, imagining, pondering, questioning what processes were done in the past, enjoying birdsong, and a pleasant visit with people who feel like family... in France. 🥰🥰xx
Loved exploring your outbuildings with you. Soo fascinating. People have made some great suggestions too. I did read somewhere that French chateaux used to hang tobacco leaves to dry on hooks in outbuildings. Another possibility to add to your long list. 😊 Would love to see a video about investigating it further. Are there any locals that have lived in the area have any idea about more of the chateau’s history and uses. X
Hooks in the walls were for livestock bridles, halters etc. smokehouse, root cellars, servants quarters etc. tunnel is an icehouse
I would think the building with all the windows on one side and hooks on the ceiling would be a greenhouse at one time. They have even thought of heating in the winter to keep the plants warm.
Ash, I wouldn't have gone into that tunnel either. Spiders are creepy. The room with the hooks definitely looks like a curing room for meat. The room with the air vents could be for smoking meat or meat storage. I love these videos. Thanks for taking us with you on your adventures.
Wow, the out buildings are more complicated than I would have expected!! And the buildings are all stone. A lot of thought & design went into them as Ash said! Hmmm 🤔, can't wait to hear about the tunnel. I am not going to ask you to tear yourselves away from work, but these videos show your Chateau is much more complicated and extensive than many others I've seen. Fascinating! Thank you very much!
Hi guys also! Something to consider is the water table from the top of the land to the bottom. It’s possible the tunnel was just a way of removing water from higher land to lower with creating issues with the buildings. As if the chateau was moved higher and the land built up after then maybe , there would of been areas that could culminate water. So that was put in as, like a sink well to remove water away. Just a thought!
I love that you have turned this area again into a garden. But if ever you wanted to turn this area into a guest area, it would be unique. Some B n B renters like the idea of renting a hovel.
Fascinating! Loved it!
Brilliant vlog, love following you guys. I have an idea about the steps going up the wall, I think they where used to help people get onto a horse especially ladies riding sidesaddle. I might be wrong though . Once again you guys rock ! PS love Lord Patrick.
Thank you. Never really thought about that 😊
Have you researched what typical out-buildings existed at the time, not specific to your property? That might provide some clues. Have you found evidence of a root cellar? Workers' cottages? I love mysteries and wish you luck in your discoveries!
Yes, I'd like to see more exploring. I am curious to see the other gates too.
If there was an orchard, maybe some of those building were Apple, pear storage and for the making of Calvados, for example. Wine production? Wine Cellar?
in de laatste kamer zitten ijzeren haken aan de muur hier heeft een balk achter gezeten waar de vloer op ruste., bij de witte deur zie je nog een stulk balk achter een haak
Thank you for shoring us more about the chateau 🎉
Ash, you are a natural explorer! You’re a history nerd, we already knew they but this vlog had confirmed it! You are desperately wanting to understand the out buildings and the way the chateau works lived and worked and I think that is admirable. Once you have researched and digested all the comments, suggestions and expert advice from historians, I’d love you to replay this vlog with explanations of why things were the way they were originally built and if they were adapted, why they were adapted, and lastly if they were abandoned, why they were abandoned. All this info would give you the authority to reuse the buildings you’ve shown us in new ways such as gites. However if they were significant you could semi restore them and make a historical park where you show how an old chateau worked and how it provided so much employment to the local area. Hundreds depended on the local chateaux and the local religious places like abbeys etc. The locals were dependent on them for employment. Just a wild thought but I think a valid one from you friend down under, Neil in Australia 🇦🇺
Yay! Jonathan's garden. 💚
Hi Everyone it. Fantastic to see what got on your land for you work on in the summer time when the weather will be better may be Tony be back to give you all a hand . Have the window arrived yet and how is the room getting on can’t wait to see how that Apartment going to look when Terry finished . Well take care all. Xxx
Excellent video, I would like to see more 👩🏼👍🏼
Thanks Leah 😊
I am mesmerized! I also LOVE exploring old buildings and figuring out what their purpose was! Thank you for these views of some of the structures on your property! There are many viewers who have studied old building techniques and they may well be able to provide some insight that can point you in the right direction👏🏻🥰
Yes lov to see the past parts of the Chateaux. We have nothing like that over on this side of the pond. We knock everything down in 10-20 yrs.
Thank you. Will do some more exploring soon 😊😊
Absolutely loved being taken around your property ❤ more plz
Ash I love your excitement over the new discoveries! The Château is such a lovely treasure and continues to hold many secrets. How awesome that you shared this enjoyable adventure with us.
Thanks Catherine 🙏🙏
The storytelling is great.