Versailles – les Maisons en Meulière

Versailles is so much more than that gaudy gilded monstrosity at the other end of of town.  Take the road from my house to the Montreuil train station, for example.  Walk up past the community center, take a left away from the Sainte Geneviève high school, and then slow down and start looking at the houses on both sides of the boulevard de la République. Really look because each one is unique and a feast for the eyes.  Do this a few times and you’ll start to see common elements that unite them all and make this one of the most charming streets I have had the pleasure to walk. Most of them are what are called maisons en meulière.

What is meulière?  It’s a type of stone that is pretty common in this area and it was used for two things:  millstones and houses.  Unlike the smooth cut stones (pierre de taille) that grace many of the grander buildings in the Paris region, meulière is irregular, multi-coloured, and rough.  It has holes like Swiss cheese and every time I get close to it, I want to run my hands over it.  (If there is a geologist reading this, please jump in and give us an expert view.)

The houses built with this type of stone on the boulevard de la République were constructed in the early years of the 20th century.  In contrast to the roughness of the meulière they used brick, cut stone,  faïences, and iron and woodwork to give each house a touch of something special. “Art Nouveau” decor says one of the articles I read. On some of them you can see the name of a very well known Versailles architect “Leon Bachelin” on a little discreet plaque somewhere on the facade.  Bachelin is credited with the invention of the typical “maison bourgeoise versaillaise”.  One source I found said that he designed these houses for wealthy Parisians who wanted houses in the close suburbs.  Apparently a hundred years ago Versailles qualified as “the country” for these folks.

Most of the buildings are set back from the street with a little courtyard in front and, I assume, a much bigger garden in the back. Today you can’t see as much as you might like because some of the owners past or present have put metal plates over the classic wrought iron fences separating the front garden from the street.

I am a terrible photographer and I couldn’t possible do these houses justice but I did find this Flickr site that does.  I invite you to have a look.  There is also this very fine documentary (about 10 minutes) from France 5.

I love these houses.  However, if we had gone looking for one to buy two years ago, we would have suffered instant sticker shock.  They are very expensive, especially in the Montreuil neighborhood.  Here is a link to one that is one the market right now for the princely sum of 1.5 million Euros.  Some nice pictures though and, hey, one can always dream, right?

The Flophouse Godin

Mail and quite a few hits in response to my posts about our Godin wood stove. Here is the story – all the posts I wrote last year about it in chronological order:

A “Petit Godin” for the Flophouse (January 2013)  Why we decided to get a wood stove for our house here in Versailles and a nice video I found that shows how a top-loading Godin works.

The Search for the Perfect French Wood Stove (May 2013)  All the different models we looked at when we went to the Godin showroom in St. Cyr.

 

 

Tempus Fugit at the Flophouse (June 2013)  The month we finally got the mason to do the work of raising the chimney.  He did great work.  Before and after pictures.

Flophouse House and Garden Fall Projects (September 2013)  The story of how we came to buy our odd little house in Versailles and how the installation of the wood stove by Godin went.

Settling in for the Winter – le Petit Godin (November 2013)  A report on how well we liked our stove once we actually started using it.

People have sent stories about Godins in places like Vermont and Quebec.  I’ve also heard from folks who either want one and want to know if they are still being exported, or from those who are thinking about it and have questions about how well they work and if it’s really worth it.

One wood stove does not make me an expert but, hey, I live to serve.

Finding a Godin:  From what I am hearing (and if you have other information, please correct me) Godin still exports but not everywhere.  I found new stoves for sale in the UK, for example.  I did not find any resellers in North America BUT I did see more than one used Godin on Ebay under “vintage wood stove” or “antique French Godin” so that’s one place to look.   Craigslist might be another – they have sites all over the world.  There are other forums and boards you can check out like this one which gives you a good idea of the prices (used) – I see one in Tacoma, Washington for 300 USD (about 220 Euros).   These stoves are downright indestructible and last forever so it makes sense that there would be used ones out there.

On the Godin website they have a catalog request form and apparently they have an English language version.  So for you anglophones out there just put in your address and check “Anglais” and “Particulier.”  You can also have a look at their on-line catalog.  I’d suggest checking one or the other of these sources to get a good idea of the range of stoves available and then start looking for a used one in your area if there aren’t any Godin resellers in your country.

How Well Do They Work?  Well, I haven’t received a single comment or email from someone who doesn’t love their Godin.  As for us, we are very pleased so far.  Be aware that it’s not that cold in Versailles yet.  Early January temperatures are hovering just above freezing at night and there’s almost no wind. Depending on how much wood I feed it, I can keep the main floor of our little house between 21 and 23 degrees Celsius ( between 70 and 73 degrees Fahrenheit).

We are using more wood these days and we are now confronted with the problem of picking it up, storing it, and keeping it dry.  We don’t have a truck so we have to use the car and we can only fit about 3/4 of a stere in the back per load.  That amount of wood lasts us about three weeks.

Last week we made two trips to Viroflay and Mr. Treps’ woodlot and packed 1.5 steres on the front porch.   This is the side of the house least exposed to the wind and rain.  I’ve learned that it’s easier to get the stove started and continuously burning throughout the day if I stack a day’s worth of wood and kindling in the house in the evening before I go to bed.

We could get wood delivered and we’ve looked into it.  But we don’t have a driveway and there’s no place for a truck to pull up and dump the wood.  Also, we like buying locally and Mr. Treps’ prices and service (he always helps us load) are good.  What we may do next summer is build a shelter on the side of the house with room for roughly what we would need for the winter.  Then we would make a series of small trips each month while the weather is good until we fill the space.

Yesterday I got a call from Caldeo, the fuel company (another place with great service) asking if we needed the tank topped off.  Last delivery was 1000 liters in October which brought the counter up to 1200 liters.  I went down and checked and we still have about 800 liters left.  So we are using a little over 100 liters (26 gallons) of fuel a month.  That’s about what you would put into an SUV if you took one down to the local gas station and said, “Fill her up.”

I think we can do better but it will never be zero because our boiler provides heat and hot water.  I’m an old lady with arthritis and I’m not giving up my hot baths nor will I wash my dishes in cold water. There are limits and il ne faut pas exagérer…

I’ve set up a spreadsheet and I will be tracking how much wood we use and the rate at which we are burning fuel.  This will give me a baseline for next year.

The Final Grade:  5 Stars.  Two thumbs up.  20/20.  A++.  It really was worth all the trouble and the expense.  I have no idea when we will get a return on the investment but we are clearly using less fuel.  There are also a number of indirect benefits that we didn’t think of when we first got the stove installed but have become apparent with time and experience.

Dry heat:  The heat from the wood stove is dry heat and feels better than the heat that comes off the radiators.  Versailles is really humid and cold – it was built on swampland and a few hundred years ago there was a pond where our house sits today.  We get that stove going and we can feel the house getting warmer and drier.  It’s great for my arthritis.

Cooking:  I’m not kidding.  I hauled out my grandmother’s (great-grandmother’s?) cast iron skillet which fits beautifully on the top of the stove.  I’ve made beef stew, reheated roast chicken and defrosted vegetables from the freezer.  I’m sure I could do much more.  Right now I am looking for a cast iron tea kettle at a reasonable price so I can have tea water on demand.

Fertilizer:  There is a little tray for the ashes in the bottom of the stove.  Every morning I take it out and either dump it in the garden or I mix it into the compost pail in the kitchen (keeps it from smelling).  I used our fireplace ashes in the garden in our old apartment and it made a huge difference – the flowers and vegetables just loved it.  I think this garden will love it too.

Less waste:  We used to take out the recycling bin once a week and it was always full.  These days it’s more like every two or three weeks.  This is because we use paper for starting fires.  I’d never realized just how much of our recycling was paper products.  That was an inspiration and now we are looking into just what else is going into that bin that we could reuse.  Here’s one example and, yes, I’m going to try it.

That’s the bilan so far.  If you know other resources or have stories to tell about Godin wood stoves old or new, antique or modern, please share them.  I can attest to the fact that there is interest out there.

And for the next big Flophouse project?  Right here.

A Brief History of Porchefontaine

I like hearing stories just as much as I like telling them.  This past month I’ve spent a few hours every Wednesday visiting a elderly woman in Petit Montreuil.  She just turned 90 and is still sharp as a tack.  She was a stay at home mother and is a breast cancer survivor.  Her husband was a fireman and later a taxi driver.  She has many memories of Versailles that she’s been kind enough to share with me.  In turn I tell her what it was like to grow up in the U.S.  and to be a young foreign bride in France.   It makes for an interesting exchange and I find myself really looking forward to Wednesdays.

When people hear that you live in Versailles, the first thing they think of is the rather gaudy monstrosity  on the other side of town.  But the city and the chateau have very little to do with each other.  The castle is owned and operated by the French government and the city derives no benefit or tax money from it.  Yes, the tourists come and spend money but only in the restaurants and shops near the train station, Rive Gauche.

That’s a pity because Versailles (the city) is a pretty interesting place with a long history.  Regular people have lived and still live here – there is a broad spectrum of people from every socioeconomic class.   There is even public housing in the city (called “HLM’s) for low-income families.  At church and around town most of the people I meet are retirees, working people or military families.    Outside the areas frequented by the tourists there is so much to discover and so many people to meet.

My neighborhood, Porchefontaine, is one such place.  Being a curious sort, I’ve been trying to learn more about it.  Not easy.  Most of the books about Versailles (once again) focus on the castle and the Ancien Regime.  But I was able to come up with a few sites and two books from the local bookshop:  Porchefontaine au coin de la rue published by the Archives communales de Versailles and Versailles:  Sept Siecles de l’histoire du quartier de Porchefontaine neither of which are available one-line (no Kindle edition).  Add to that the conversations I’ve had with my neighbors and other long-term residents here and I think I now know enough to draw a brief sketch of the quartier.

Today Versailles is divided up more or less into these neighborhoods:  Notre Dame, Saint Louis, Satory, Les Chantiers, Montreuil, Jussieu and Clagny-Glatigny.  Very often Montreuil is divided in two depending on what side of the Avenue de Paris you live on in which case you can be more precise and say Grand or Petit Montreuil.  This map was drawn up for the purposes of showing where the schools are.  I know that the boundaries are drawn differently by the inhabitants but this will do for a start.

If you look at very old maps of Versailles, you will notice that Porchefontaine isn’t even on them.  There is no written documentation of this area before the 14th century.  The first mention of it comes from the Church and the “Registre Manuscrit des Celestins de Paris.”  In 1350, it is written, the area was given to one Etienne Porcher, Sargeant at Arms to the king Jean II Le Bon. It was then passed along to different owners and their children until one of them so annoyed the king at the time that the property was confiscated and the castle (yes, there was a castle) was razed to the ground. In 1395 the domain was given in perpetuity to the Celestines in Paris.

Here is a map from one of the books that shows Porchefontaine in 1686.  You see the outline of the Avenue de Paris, the road that leads to the Versailles castle.  You will also see that there at least five “Estangs” which I would translate as “ponds.”

My house today sits where the Estang Pierray used to be which may explain why my basement is so damp.  The road next to this pond which goes southeast off the Avenue de Paris is today called the Avenue de Porchefontane.  This was the main road to the rest of the domain.

You will also notice the woods to the east called the Bois de Porchefontaine.  In 1740 during a very cold winter the inhabitants of Versailles started taking firewood from it – a “pillage systematique.”  The Celestines didn’t do anything about it but the King did.  He sent his guard to occupy the area which provoked all kinds of emotion, especially fear.  They started throwing out the stolen wood from their houses lest they be caught by the King’s men.

In 1748 Porchefontaine became part of the Royal Domain (the Celestines got property elsewhere in exchange) and it became a Royal hunting ground.

After the Revolution it was sold and passed into private hands.  Around 1800 the city of Versailles got permission to impose an tax on goods and beasts coming into the city.   Two customs houses were built on the Avenue de Paris and a wall was constructed in 1849 between Porchefontaine and le Petit Montreuil.  Part of that wall is part of my garden today.

By 1889 the area had been cut into small parcels and sold to individuals who built free standing houses.  At the beginning of the 20th century the neighborhood began to take shape.  There was a tramway and lots of businesses, both small shops and larger companies.  It was a quartier with a terrible reputation at that time – sewers, gas, electricity and water services weren’t even started until 1928 (though there were public water fountains) and a dangerous slum graced the area along the railway.  My house was built in 1929 and there is a brick structure in my garden that looks a lot like a well.

Perhaps it was once and I’m halfway tempted to see if we could open it up and get it working again.

I was rather shocked to read that in World War II Versailles was bombed by the allies on June 24, 1944 (not an anniversary anyone I know plans on celebrating three days from now).  Porchefontaine took the brunt of it and the pictures are something to see.  21 residents died.  Earlier in 1941 two German planes crashed into the area – the first killed a local resident, the other damaged the local movie theater.  The Frenchwoman I visit on Wednesday talks a lot about that time.  She was in school at the time but her parents decided to send her off to countryside because it was dangerous to stay in town.

By the 1950’s Porchefontaine had become a very nice place to live with its modest little houses and gardens.  The creation of a train station along the Paris-Versailles Rive Gauche line (now the RER C line) meant easy access both to the center of Versailles and to the center of Paris.   By the 1970’s it had actually become a rather desirable location.  Middle-class French looking for a small reasonably priced detached house with good access to the city started buying and are gradually replacing the older residents.  As a result in 2013 the house prices are high as are the local taxes.  I won’t tell you how much we paid for our house but we did well because most of the potential buyers considered the house to be a tear-down and were only interested in the land.

There are still a fair number of long-term residents who came here before “gentrification.” On my street are mostly retired couples one of whom is former military and another is an Italian immigrant.  The latter and his wife gave me a cutting from their fig tree for my garden.  Their tree came from Italy and he told me a wonderful story about driving back to France with his father with a sapling in the back seat.

For some great pictures of how the neighborhood has changed over the years this site has postcards from the early 20th century and this one has “now and then” pictures.   I’ll leave you today with a few pictures of my own.  Have a lovely weekend, everyone.

Vide-grenier de Porchefontaine

Do the French have garage sales?

You bet they do.  They are called vide-greniers which means “empty the attic’ and I just went to a spectacular one here today in Porchefontaine.  They closed off the streets in the center of the neighborhood and local residents put up stalls up and down the main roads with stuff for sale.

I had so much fun.  Bargaining was allowed.  Good cheer was abundant.  I was captivated and entertained beyond my wildest expectations.  I don’t know how many complete strangers I met – one woman and I literally went through our sacks in the middle of the street showing each other all the treasure we found – and how many faces I recognized from church, local shops and neighborhoods in and adjacent to Porchefontaine.

For the cerise sur le gâteau, I scored some real bargains.

On the left is a portable sewing box.  It has room for all my quilting stuff so I can get rid of all those plastic boxes in the basement.  It’s light and has a handle so I can move it from room to room.  The screws need tightening and it needs a good dusting but other than that it’s in perfect shape.

On the right is a small night table with a marble top.  Just beautiful and small enough to fit in a corner of my very small house.

On top of the table is this dish that I got for 1 Euro.  I’d been looking for something like this for serving hot vegetables like asparagus or beans.  It’s in perfect shape and I thought it was very pretty.

Okay, none of this stuff was essential but the fun was in the process, not the final product.  I’ll find space for all of it and when next year’s vide-grenier rolls around, I have promised my spouse to subtract (not add) to the clutter.

Bon dimanche, everyone!

Sainte Elisabeth

This post is both the fulfillment of a promise and an opportunity to share with you a few pictures of the interior of my local church, Sainte Elisabeth de Hongrie.

Sometimes I am asked (or I offer) to light candles at church.  This practice of putting votive candles around the statues of saints or the Virgin has been around for centuries.  Some say it started with the early Christians who put candles in front of the tombs of the martyrs in the catacombs.   It’s still around and for me it represents a prayer that continues long after I’ve left the church and made my way back home.

May is Mary’s month and a week ago the Portuguese community held a celebration in honor of Our Lady of Fatima.  They decorated our statue of Mary with all kinds of white flowers like roses and hydrangeas and carried it in a procession around the church.  Days later the roses still smell wonderful.  I lit my candles and here is the picture I promised to post.

While I had my camera in hand I took a few more pictures.  This church was built in 1850 in honor of Madame Elisabeth, a sister of Louis XVI, who had a property in Petit Montreuil.  Her former house and garden are a public park.   There is an exhibition, in fact, going on right now called Madame Elisabeth:  Une princesse du destin tragique (she was guillotined during the Terror).  Something to see if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

The church is located in the quarter that we call Chantiers today.  Easy to pass by without a second look because the outside is nothing special.  The inside, however, is something else again.

You can find more (and better) pictures and a description of the different architectural features and artwork that grace the interior here.  That magnificent painting, Sainte Elisabeth, le miracle des roses, is by Paul-Hippolyte Flandrin.  All that we see today when we walk through the doors is the result of a grand restoration project that took place in 2009/2010.

As a parishioner I can tell you what I love about it:  The wood which makes it warm and welcoming, the colors (blue and peach and white), and the light – there are skylights in the chapel and just in front of  Flandrin’s painting.  But, most of all, it’s a small church which makes it less impressive, perhaps, than the cathedral.  However, it’s not about “shock and awe” – it’s a space à taille humaine and this human is very happy to spend a portion of her week within its walls.