Sentiers du Patrimoine ®
Le Perchay
Poursuivre jusqu’au studio de Bernard Estardy.
Prochain point : Lat. 49.11117, Long. 1.93652
Until the early 20th century, the slopes of the Ravine of Le Perchay were laid out as a series of cultivated terraces. In 1899, the village schoolmaster wrote that this south-facing hillside, known as Les Groues, was "covered with numerous small gardens yielding excellent crops, thanks to their shelter from the northern winds." Similar gardens could also be found in the valleys of Gouline and the Couleuvre stream.
Whether on the plateau or along the valley slopes, these small plots enabled local families to grow vegetables and keep a few animals, providing much of their everyday food.
Some of these terraces may have disappeared as the ravine gradually widened through erosion. Rainwater runoff continues to carve the valley both deeper and broader. Along Grande Rue, beside Château Farm, the ravine has widened so significantly that the roadside safety barrier visible in early 20th-century photographs had to be moved back several metres.
Before the French Revolution of 1789, the floor of the ravine was known as the Garenne des Célestins. Under the feudal system, a garenne was a private hunting reserve where hunting and fishing rights belonged exclusively to the landowner.
The Célestine Order owned extensive property in Le Perchay. In addition to this hunting reserve, the Célestine monks of Limay had owned the manor (fief) and the Farm of La Chaumette since 1463.
The monks themselves rarely lived in the village, visiting only occasionally to oversee the management of their estates, which were run by lay tenants. Although La Chaumette Farm fell into ruin for a time, traces of its former layout can still be seen today. The surrounding houses still form an almost rectangular enclosure around what was once the farmyard, now crossed by Rue de la Chaumette.
