"A light hearted and humorous account of 'ma vie' as a brocanteuse, experiences from my life in France and my love of antiques, all things vintage, period interiors and 'les trucs' (eclectic thingamybobs)"

Monday 10 August 2015

A Tailor Made Château

Last weekend we visited a brocante that was just a little more special than the ones we attend. Generally in car parks, fields, villages or town squares I was especially keen to visit this particular one because it was being held in the grounds of a château.  My hope was that it would be a cross between The Antiques Roadshow and a summer garden party and I wasn't disappointed.


It was a bit of a chilly and overcast start to the day but it soon warmed up


The story behind Le Château de la Mercerie (translated as The Castle of Haberdashery) is very out of the ordinary because this grandiose façade is an illusion.  In 1924 two brothers, Alphonse and Raymond Réthoré, made their fortune from the textile industry and proceeded to purchase a modest manor (if there is such a thing).  Inspired by Versailles they then constructed an imposing and magnificent structure on the side.  Over the years they collected architectural treasures including paintings by Italian Masters, sculptures, delft tiles to create vast murals and, like Versailles, they commissioned a mirrored gallery. 

The château or folly that can be seen today was finally completed in 1970 only to fall into disrepair over the subsequent years. Luckily the local residents have taken up the baton to save this treasure and have been busy fund raising with this annual brocante being just one of many events held in the grounds.


The brother's additions to the original building are very long and virtually impossible to photograph in entirety so here is a photo I found that shows the whole thing



A work in progress as a new roof to one of the turrets is under construction.  If you had ever wondered how they made them well wonder no more.  I don't know why but I suddenly fancy an ice cream!


From this side you can see the original manor house


A beautiful view over the Charentaise countryside from behind the façade


I did a bit of treasure hunting myself that day (soon to be put on my Etsy shop) and thoroughly enjoyed having such a splendid backdrop to do a bit of haggling.

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