Church on Sunday...Holy Trinity Chapel,Richelieu

The tiny chapel of the Holy Trinity set behind the large doors of number 21 Grand Rue in Richelieu had intrigued me for a while and although it features on my 'Churches page' on www.experienceloire.com   I could not find any information on why it was there squashed between two of the grand town houses.

Last week when we revisited the town we took the opportunity to pop our heads in again. Inside there are some old photographs which looked to be of a school, pupils and teachers. The word orphelinat (orphanage) could be seen but the connection wasn't obvious. On Leaving the chapel we saw a group of people leaving one of the houses behind the chapel so took the opportunity to ask them if they knew its history.

They explained that we and the chapel were in the grounds of a former orphanage and as we looked behind them we could see some of the arches that feature in the photographs. So we had the answer but also more questions!  Tried to do a little more research on this but to no avail.

Richelieu Cape et Epee

Colin & Elizabeth have reminded us on their blog that this weekend is a big one for the town of Richelieu as it holds its 10th edition of its Cape & Epee Festival over 2 days. Here's hoping that the weather holds out - Sunday looks like the best bet! Below is a video of the parade from the last event in 2012.

                       

No strings attached...

Second stop on Sunday was the antique fair at Richelieu. On arrival we were a bit disappointed to see only a few clothing stalls in the large square in front of the church plus some stalls within the recently renovated covered market.

As we strolled through the market out the other side we were pleased to see the streets lined with stalls...  

offering some exquisite pieces that were way out of our price bracket but it was good to 'window shop' even without the windows!

It was the middle of lunchtime when we arrived and it was interesting to see how the stall holders took advantage of  the quiet period.The couple above choose to watch a movie (?) while the couple below, who were in the covered market, set up a table in the centre of their stall and looked very comfortable.

 Interestingly they were happy to have their photograph taken but did not want any photographs taken of their stock!

 My favourite items were the ones above...if they could talk, what stories would they tell? Would have been perfect in old silent movies for example. Mike who was with us said you could buy them 'no strings atached' stealing my punchline!

A Cardinal who's more than one dimensional...

Some weeks ago we found ourselves back in the town of Richelieu in search of an open restaurant (it was Monday) and decided to explore a little as it had been a few years since our last visit. We knew that had been a new visitor centre installed in one of the town houses on Grande Rue and went in search of it.
On a previous visit we had 'looked in' on the museum but having read somewhere that it was not very interesting decided against a visit. This is still there, in the square diagonally opposite the new  Tourist office. As you enter, it shows that  the entrance is on the first floor but you have to 'report first to the Mariés office' - small paper sign told us this - now Pauline is a stickler for rules and authority and was about to exit in search of it when I noticed a lady behind a desk near the sign - when I asked her where the office was she answered 'here' - was going to suggest a sign saying 'report here' would suffice but that would take some of the 'French' out of the visit. I asked her if a visit to the museum was worth it - and she said no! and we should go directly to the new exhibition on Grande Rue, we did.

The museum can be found at No 28 one of the many former grand town houses along this street. Most of these were abandoned after the death of the cardinal and even today many still appear to be.

 The town is however going through a bit of resurgence with large restoration works including the town square and market hall being recently completed.

The exhibition includes a great visual display of the history of the town and the Cardinal. 

There is a gallery on the top floor under its impressive beams.

You end the tour with a 3D virtual video walk through the Cardinal's former chateau of which little or nothing remains...as you will see it was a rather splendid place to rival even Versailles. 

Church on Sunday...small but perfectly formed.

When we ended up in Richelieu last Monday we decided,after lunch of course, to explore the town in a little greater depth than previous visits where we had concentrated on the town square and the park. There has been a big commitment to tourism recently in the town which has lead to an excellent (more later) exposition about the Cardinal and the town itself. Mike and Liz who we were with knew of a small chapel that was hidden behind one of the large town houses on Grande Rue but on a earlier visit had failed to locate it.Now it's a little easier as number 21 has a European Union Flag above it which draws the eye. As you peer through the little doorway you are met by a pleasant surprise...

...this beautiful little chapel. You can see more detail here

  

2013 calender...March

March

February

January

Church on Sunday,,,Richelieu

This Sunday we are in Richelieu visiting ' Eglise Notre-Dame de Richelieu' which is dedicated to 'Our Lady of the Assumption'. The church is the most dominant building within the market square of this interesting town (see more detail here). Built around 1638 its design is credited to the then architect to the king Jacques Lermercier. Now I thought he was responsible for the entire town and former chateau but according to this very good site on the town this is not the case. 

In any case it is an impressive building, built in a classical style and to remain in such condition is a testament to the architect. Could buildings like this be built today - I often wonder.

The main alter which dates from the 18th century is impressive. 

As are the side alters, one of which is dedicated to St. Vincent who's contract with the cardinal provided the first priests for the parish.

The church organ by Louis Bonn was installed in 1854.It went through a restoration programme between 1992 and 1994

There is the inevitable 'Joan' dedication.

The baptismal font is original.

You should take a look  if you visit the town or park.

A walk with the Cardinal...

Yesterday we were invited over to Colin and Elizabeth's at Braye sous Faye. We joined them on a couple of their local walks, one around the park at Richelieu and one through the woodland around the village.

Here a few photographs of the park.

Ladies of Richelieu

The grand canal

Here are a couple of the woodland featured many times on their.blog We could see why.

Took this shot in their garden as we were leaving after very enjoyable visit - which only confirmed the idylic location in which they live.