Little by little, stone by stone — Joseph Charette undertook the construction of the little village of Briord in the 18th century. Stables, dovecote, wine cellar, bakery, chapel... a world in miniature.
It is perhaps with this gentle refrain in mind that Joseph Charette undertook the construction of the little village of Briord, and that his successor, Jean-Anne Dubois-Violette, once the revolutionary turmoil had passed, continued and completed this work.
In the beginning, a set of buildings, often in poor condition and of medieval origin, formed the farmyard perpendicular to the manor, and then to the present château. There one found a stable, an old chapel, a dovecote, a few dwellings.
We are in the Age of Enlightenment. It is no longer acceptable to endure the sight, from the front steps of your magnificent château, of useful but old and mismatched buildings. So they are "moved out", in an orderly, efficient and harmonious way:
The whole surrounded by high walls and reached by passing through a heavy oak door. The village of Briord was born. Not forgetting, of course, the comfort of the soul provided in its chapel by the priest, receiving the poor and the faithful in the charming chaplaincy.
So discreet that it makes itself forgotten, so discreet that it must be sought out — at the edge of the village of Briord, the little dovecote. It is ornamental in its size. Consider: only sixty nesting holes, not enough to feed a field. Its five pentagonal sides, very original, offer us a wealth of questions.
Soon, at the centre of the little village of Briord, at the foot of the pretty covered well, you will hear the cries of joy and of sorrow, the songs, the laughter, the sound of clogs on the cobblestones — you will hear Life.