Saturday 23 June 2018

Antigny

Several times since Jouhet there were fingers-posts pointing to Château de Bois Morand as if it was somewhere one was expected to visit. The fourth one pointed off the road into a wood and seemed to be the destination of import. A quick u-turn and down the road I went.

Eglise in Antigny
The road soon became a track heading downhill with a 10 tonne warning sign. A left turn insisted no cars, motos or other wheeled vehicles were welcome; indeed the path seemed to lead into the yard in the centre of a group of private buildings. Nothing else was visible - a tall stone wall blocked what I took to be the château proper and a brick wall guarded farm buildings to the right; everything else was a dense wood. So the only way was forward, down the 10 tonne lane.

I expected the lane to take me down to the river somewhere but as I turned a right-angled corner, the track was littered from side-to-side with shattered glass; I decided to retreat! Attempting a 17-point 180° turn on a considerable slope with stones and ruts was testing; so much so that the bike decided I wasn't competent, threw me off and lay itself down in protest. The soft panniers prevented it going right down but still its dead weight represented something of a problem since as I tried to lift it up, it wanted to roll down the hill. After some heaving I managed to reach in and engage 2nd gear and then finally lifting it almost vertical before getting it properly under control.
Frescoes and under-roof of Antigny church

Once I had cooled down and blood-pressure had returned to normal, I remounted and got outta there. I suspect I had missed a trick; certainly looking at google maps and a few articles, it seems this château has something of a reputation but is not open to the public. Who knows why there is a need for sign-posts to lead you there. Onward to Antigny.

Antigny's church is located on an unexpected chicane - driving a horse & cart wouldn't cause a problem but any other sort of vehicle needs to take care. Also, on the way into the village you pass a local museum; I decided not to check it out but information inside the church indicated it might have some interesting objects including some archaeological treasures.

Medieval lantern in Antigny
From the doorway, the church is clearly early-medieval although not especially remarkable. To the right is a covered area which supposedly is where parishioners would gather before or after church services to gossip about village life. The bell tower and its tiny spire are likely later additions. Inside is very interesting! The frescoes of course are impressive though they are fading and difficult to make out. The roof or ceiling is very unusual though. A few simple supports between the walls reach up to the apex of the ceiling - these supports are unusually light especially given the medieval tendency to over engineer structures. The ceiling itself is shaped almost as a barrel vault except it is made of wood. At first glance they look just like regular voliges but then compare the arched shaped of the interior ceiling and the external, steep roof. It would be very interesting to see how the roof is actually held up! 

A couple of information panels inside the church describe the frescoes and mention the structure across the road on the common; it looks like a war memorial but actually is a medieval lantern.



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