Patrimoine 3

Our third visit on Patrimoine day took us from the Loire Valley over the river Creuse into the department of Vienne. We headed to the village of Vicq-sur-Gartempe where Karen had heard that the intriguing house just before you cross the river Gartempe  was open to the public.On our trips down to the beautiful village of Angles sur l'Anglin the house never fails to catch our eyes. We had often wondered about its history - its 'loud' exterior seemed out of place in this quiet village.

Someone had said that it was originally built by a 'lady' who had made her fortune in Paris entertaining the gentry. This, as we found out to today, was just a local 'urban myth'. The house was actually built for M. and Mme.Guyard in 1847. Mme. was in fact returning to the place of her birth with the rewards of marrying a successful business man



Today we were transported back in time to the beginning of the last century with our hosts, dressed in period costumes, serving coffee with music in the garden and providing a (form of) croquet display on the lawn.

Inside the house we were treated to the sound of records played on period turntables which were on display plus the sights of the 'Art Nouveau' inspired interior of the building itself .There were photographs on display of buildings of this period from around the world plus books on many of the finest designers and architects  

I have always loved this period and indeed our last house in Scotland had more than a touch of the influence of our own 'local hero' Charles Rennie Mackintosh who I was pleased to see featured . More on CRM here...

Our dining room suite was a replica of the famous 'Main Street Dining Suite' that he had made for his own house in Glasgow



Video below shows you a little more of the great man who actually spent four of his last five years living and painting in Port Vendres in the South of France before returning to London where he died in 1928.
There is a tourist trail dedicated to him there .http://www.port-vendres.com/page

Below is a video showing the contribution he made to his art form.