Christmas lights are switched on in the streets and squares of Richelieu

La Mairie or Townhall

la halle, or market hall

original photos by A.Proveda - thanks AP; hope you don't mind!

and here is an older picture of the Grande Rue,
empty of traffic, and with an added hornbeam 'avenue'...

same day, different view...

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Wine festival in Richelieu

A short movie of the recent 2017 wine festival held on
23 April 2017
(St.George's Day: Shakespeare's birthday in 1564)
under the roof of the market hall.



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The restored halle with a bit of pollarding

notice the pidgeon up top!

empty parking next to the church....

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the place du Marché Richelieu in February 2016

a view looking north-east

One of the nice things about gridded 17th century neo-classical towns is that they are often actually perceived in the diagonal. Then the forms suddenly are seen in diagonal perspective and orthogonally-aligned buildings fill unexpected vistas; in this case, one of  the rear pavilions of the halle fits between the standardised slate roofs of the other pavilions and an hôtel particulier. 

One of the characteristics of 17th century French buildings is that each rectangular block of the building's plan has its own 'pyramidal' capping roof - they were not generally linked together until a later 18th century became more exuberant and adventurous in their roof-scape design and engineering.

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Pollarding the lime trees

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollarding

Look! no cars - and all the trees have had a haircut….

"a short back, sides and top please, Sir".

the restored halle roof behind

The Caisse d'Épargne - 2

Around the newly restored market hall - la halle - are 4 pavilions, one on each corner of the compass. Although they have existed since the inception of the  town, they have been extended and enlarged in the manner of the 1830s.  This does not mean that they are any the less elegant, indeed they are very graceful.  Two of the four pavilions are under refurbishment; one as new offices for the Commune of Richelieu, and this one for the Caisse d'Épargne (The savings Bank) that has probably been there for quite a time, taking the monies from the market trading.  The ground floor premises are being refurbished and the timber infills of the semi-circular arches replaced in style.  The Abbé HP hopes that the two pavilions that face the market square will be fully restored, in particular the rather neglected façade of the PMU brasserie, with its rusty first floor balustrade, just waiting for a lick of paint!.

The Caisse d'Épargne - 1

Now that the Halle itself has been restored, and is back in use, the restoration project continues with the adaptation of the four flanking pavilions.  While these seem to have been in the original concept of the 1640s, they have been much enlarged and were largely rebuilt in the early part of the 19th century, judging by their architectural manner.  This particular north-west pavilion, located on the main market square in a very prominent location, has been used by the Caisse d'Epargne reducing in occupation over the years to a simple cash machine point, handily located next to the market stalls and the twice weekly demands of the trader's for financial facilities.  

It is a beautiful building that could offer so much more than it does at present.

Pity it is not a restaurant to match the PMU bar on the south-west pavilion adjacent on the square.

The north-west pavilion flanking la halle

The old Caisse d'Epargne gets enmeshed in redevelopment

SE pavilion to la Halle - 2

Out go those 'modern' windows

Will they copy the upper windows onto the ground floor, as formerly?

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Here's how they turned out (August 2014)

wooden normal windows replace the aluminium predecessors

One of the market hall's 4 pavilions - the SE - gets restored 1

The BEFORE shot

The south east pavilion of la halle as work starts

 Let us hope that Mme. Bartelemy of Bâtiments de France is strict on those frightful aluminium-framed windows and returns the ground floor façades to the original aesthetic of the 1830s.  The more so as the project is for the Town Hall and so must be seen to be exemplary!

The Project Board

The principal sub-contractors

MERLOT routed out by CAD-CAM

An evening sky over la halle

a dramatic cloudscape - over the restored Halle building

August turns to September 2013
vive la symmétrie!

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A few last pictures of the restored Halle; now in use...

the restored Halle is opened - 24 May 2013

from Nouvelle République - with many thanks

Laying the new floor for la Halle

As spring 2013 finally arrives and the temperatures rise sufficiently to allow concrete laying, the new floor of the Halle has now been laid.  Originally(1640) this floor would have been of simple beaten earth, and with all those animals must have been quite 'picturesque'.  The 2013 solution is a modern version of beaten earth that is a bit stronger and more hygienic. 

A big expansion joint bisects the plan at half-way - is this enough? There were insufficient expansion joints placed in the layout of the place du Marché paving and it is already showing cracks.

The level of the floor has been dropped to a lower and more 'authentic' level - rather as in Ur of the Caldees or Babylon, floor levels always rise so that heavy material does not have to be removed...

...progress at la halle

La Halle 3 - the works progress...

the slates and battens are removed from the first section of the roof

some of the ridge beam needs replacement

scaffold fills in the interior of the market hall

the end of section A of the roof works

sunlight fills some of the market hall - for the first time for 380 years

exposed carcassing of the market hall's aisle

exposed triangulating stability and wind bracing in x-form

a new replacement footing awaits to be 'scarfed in'

the old sweet chestnut (châteigner) beamage exposed


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