We saw plenty on our latest road warrior trip and now coming back is always the saddest part, The Nord dept 59 is home to family and even if now less in numbers the ties are strong, Coming back we took the expressway paying tolls again for a quicker trip of less than 8 hours, Many memories now again behind us, still missing my parents Elio and Gladys, and dear Martine,,,always with us in these trips, I gather strength to go back on this route and glad I did it Now we were on the A84 coming home and passed by a beautiful facade of a castle , we try to get in but was a private property nevertheless the pictures remained a memory flash , Therefore, let me tell you a bit about the Château de Villers Bocage ! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The town of Villers-Bocage is located in the Calvados department 14 in the Normandy region, of my belle France, It is only 25 km from Caen, I passed hastily by here and got a glimpse of the castle that made me stop and documented this post.
The Château de Villers Bocage has a long history as well, been the castle of a nobleman, hospital during the Great War or WWI, then finally luxury hotel… The Château de Villers-Bocage has experienced many lives throughout the history of the town.Built at the beginning of the 17C, it consisted of two buildings flanked by watchtowers, enclosing a narrow pavilion containing a staircase. Around 1670, the castle was enlarged with a large side wing, very classical in design. The Château de Villers Bocage is an excellent private castle very easy to access, close to the A 84 motorway (Caen-Rennes) exit Villers-Bocage and well located near Villers Bocage and Aunay sur Odon, which offer all the shops. It is located at 1 rue du Château With 18 rooms, all furnished in different styles, but benefiting from every comfort , you can experience castle life for a weekend or more! To enhance your stay, the estate has an indoor swimming pool, an outdoor swimming pool, a very beautiful spa area and a very large 20 ha garden. The castle passed in 1929 to the family of the Marquis of Clermont-Tonnerre who still occupies it today.
Other sites worth seeing me think are the Saint-Martin Church, rebuilt in 1950, inaugurated by Monsignor Roncalli, future Pope John XXIII.The painter René-Ernest Huet was born in Villers-Bocage on August 31, 1886. It was with his father, an artist, that he first trained. At the age of 16, he entered the studio of the painter Ferdinand Humbert in Paris, then a little later that of Victor Gilbert, known for his views of the capital. In 1908, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and quickly exhibited at the Salon des artistes français. Unfortunately, he did not have the time to pursue his life as a promising artist. Mobilized in August 1914, he died on the Somme front, in Mametz, on December 17, at the start of the war. Several of his works are preserved at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, at the British Museum in London and at the Museum of Fine Arts in Caen.
A bit of history of Villers Bocage I like : In the High Middle Ages, the existence of a village on the site of the current town of Villers-Bocage seems to be able to be confirmed as would be suggested by the dedications of the two ancient parishes , Saint Martin and Saint Germain , and perhaps also some sarcophagi exhumed during the construction of the Saint Germain church at the beginning of the 19C. Thus the Villers-Bocage region did not escape the birth of Christianity and its influence in our countryside from the 6-7C. In 1096, the Lord of Villers accompanied Robert II Courteheuse (son of William the Conqueror), Duke of Normandy to the Holy Land. The Bacons were powerful lords. Roger the fifth of the name marries the only heiress of the de Villers: Jéhenne. From their union an only daughter was born, named Jéhenne, like her mother. This is our Jeanne Bacon, chatelaine of Lisle and lady of Molay and Villers. Since 1348, there has been a terrible plague. We understand that the generous heart of Jeanne Bacon was moved by this. On August 1, 1366, she founded a Hôtel-Dieu , the hospital priory of Saint-Élisabeth where the poor, passers-by, pregnant women and orphans up to the age of seven could be received. Jeanne Bacon died in 1376. A second phase of the war set the Villers-Bocage region ablaze. It was the Battle of Formigny which put an end to the English occupation of the region in 1450. After the Hundred Years’ War, several noble families succeeded one another in the lordship of Villers-Bocage. On July 24, 1346, during his ride, King Edward III of England captured the city.
During the reign of Louis XV the hospice created by Jeanne Bacon, 350 years earlier and administered since 1643 by Benedictine sisters. Following Jansenist positions taken by the bishop of the diocese between 1720 and 1730, discord arose between the nuns of the priory. It led to the closure of the priory by the bishop in 1749, which did not prevent the hospice from continuing to fulfill its mission. On May 10, 1777, Joseph II, Emperor of Germany and brother of the Queen of France, came to Caen and it was in Villers-Bocage that he slept incognito. The Vicomte or Viscount were lords of Villers throughout the 18C until the end of the French revolution. In 1880, following the donation of a small piece of land, a statue in honor of Notre-Dame des Victoires de Paris was erected there. It still exists; it is call “the Black Madonna”
On June 13, 1944, at 8h45 , the 7th British D.B. was in Villers-Bocage. It crosses the town without difficulty because the Nazis elements left the day before. On the other hand, as soon as they left Villers towards Caen, they met the “Tigers” of Michel Wittmann (the ace with 119 victories on the Russian front). The entire English column was machine-gunned and the British tanks remaining in Villers-Bocage were destroyed one after the other. To capture Caen, Montgomery established a barrier between Tilly and Evrecy. To protect the attack on Hill 112, a violent bombardment took place on Villers-Bocage. On June 29, the bell tower collapsed and on the 30th, 250 planes dropped 1,350 tons of bombs on the town. It’s the total crushing of the town. From June 30, 1944, there was no more life in Villers-Bocage than at the castle. Madame de Clermont-Tonnerre organizes the relief that has become necessary. The dead are buried in the park, the English and the Germans separately. A treatment and surgery room is set up in the basement of the castle. A maternity ward was set up in three rooms on the second floor. She remained there until 1948 and 457 children were born there. The bombings will be renewed on July 13, 14 and 20. There remain 40 damaged houses out of 520. Villers-Bocage is 90% destroyed. On April 24, 1949, the award of the Croix de Guerre with citation to the Order of the Division, thus attests to the importance of the sacrifices made.
The official private Chateau de Villers Bocage : https://chateauvillersbocage.com/en/the-castle/history-of-the-chateau/
The town of Villers Bocage and its heritage/history : https://www.villersbocage14.fr/la-ville/histoire/
There you go folks, a dandy wonderful road warrior ride that we love it much, This time we rode a lot and saw plenty, worth it and glad was done, just lovely, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the private Château de Villers Bocage as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 