Domaine Belric - History

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History of Domaine Belric

From the Neolithic to today

Prehistory

Human presence in the region has been attested to since the Neolithic period, i.e. 4 to 5000 years before our era, by various tools, polished axes, pottery and millstones dating from this period, found on the banks of the current Lac de la Raho.

Antiquity
In Roman times, Belric had the advantage of being located near the Via Domitia and of being rich in water, hence the great human activity in this area. A castle, a place of defence and prevention against attacks, was built here. The name of this commune evokes its function: Montescot comes from Mont-Escot, the mountain from which one listens to watch for any unwanted visitors. On the site of this Mas, there was a village in the 10th century with a church that was a parish of Montescot: the Church of Saint-Vincent, which was destroyed and whose beautiful portal was rebuilt (it can still be seen in the church of Saint-Félix-de-Laroque-des-Albères). The estate has borne the Catalan name of "Avalri" since the 10th century when it was owned by the lord of Avalri.

The Middle Ages
The Templars developed the plain, channelled and managed the water by creating the Agouille de la Mar: this marshy area thus became a rich meadow. The estate belonged to the bishopric of Elne.

The modern era

The estate was bought in 1870 by an industrialist from Narbonne, Mr Parazols: 173 hectares, 129 of which are vineyards. He demolished several small farmhouses to build the current buildings and 2 others that were destroyed by fire.

He began with the beautiful cellar at the entrance, a place where the wine trade took place and which had a representative role. Opposite it, he built the so-called "weighing house" to weigh the loads.

It is said that the mason who did the work was Saturnin Margail, a man of exceptional dexterity, whose workers sometimes stopped to watch him work (this testimony was given by his great-granddaughter, president of the Terrus Museum in Elne).

Then, the buildings of the current "Domaine Belric" in a more modest construction:

The wing that now houses the gîtes was at that time the place where the workers were housed: 9 families lived there all year round, in addition to the day labourers who came to offer their arms during busy periods, in particular for haymaking, pruning the vines and harvesting. This part of the house was very sober.

In 1893, the other wing and the central tower were built, the ground floor of which became the present reception room. The ground floor was used as a stable with space for 22 horses to work in the fields. On the upper floor, a silkworm farm was built: in 1892, a government decree granted subsidies to farmers who would revive silkworm breeding, so the construction dates from the following year. This period has left its mark on the landscape: old mulberry trees still stand in rows along the roads and paths. A large chimney on the first floor kept the temperature mild for the development of the cocoons.

At the beginning of the 20th century, rice fields were developed but the vineyard activity supplanted everything and the rice fields were used as pasture for horses.

In 1930, a major fire destroyed this wing. The roof and floor were destroyed and rebuilt. The wood was replaced by iron, a material extracted locally near Mount Canigou and of exceptional quality, as witnessed by the numerous wrought iron bell towers, never attacked by rust. The roof and the vaulted ceilings supported by particularly elegant cast-iron pillars were built with metal frames by students of Gustave Eiffel.

Since 1912, the estate has belonged to the Jonquère d'Oriola family, which included Pierre Jonquère d'Oriola, an accomplished horseman. In the 1960s, the property fell into joint ownership as its owner Christophe Jonquère d'Oriola died without children and his nephews tried to manage it and maintain the activity. It was finally sold in two lots: one in 2000 and the other, the current Domaine Belric, in 2002.

Reconversion

When Ghislaine and Benoît Lefévère bought the current Domaine Belric, it had been uninhabited for many years and the buildings were in poor condition. But for them, it was the beginning of a wonderful adventure. Both of them fell in love with these old buildings and Benoît, who already has a long experience in the renovation of old houses, will undertake to bring this jewel of Catalan architecture back to life.

Initial investigations and structural work

After three years of reflection, living on site, studying and observing, extensive work was undertaken: the entire interior was renovated, including the floors, staircase, partitions, roof and gutters. The door and window surrounds made of caïrou, the Catalan brick, were sometimes crumbling and required the replacement of certain elements, which was done with old caïroux in order to have the same paste, the same grain and the same firing temperature. And the question arose of recovering the colour of the original plaster. After a few unsuccessful attempts with white cement and pigments, three things became obvious:

-The masons of the time worked with local materials, therefore using river sand from the nearby sand pit in Brouilla,

-The rendering was made from lime, as cement was not yet widespread.

-They did not use pigment because their only concern was to build walls that would hold, and the colour obtained naturally suited them.

Benoît therefore undertook to work in this way and it appeared to him that for the wing of the dwellings, the oldest, air lime and Brouilla sand were very suitable.

When he tackled the stable wing, which is now the reception hall, he noticed that the plaster was whiter and harder: hydraulic lime with the same sand was then the solution.

The foundations of these two parts are also different and show the evolution of techniques: for the first wing, foundations in rubble stone bonding. For the second wing, concrete foundations, concrete having made its appearance but without reinforcement.

The repair of the roof was the occasion to create a concrete chain-link to immobilise the building whose walls were cracking.

Benoît completed the work with "St. Andrew's crosses" on each façade, connected by iron bars that run right through and are now embedded in the slabs.

The roof was laid on top of wood wool insulation, which is particularly effective in both hot and cold weather, and was laid on the outside of the cladding to provide the thermal flywheel on the inside. This meant that the roof had to be raised, which meant that an extra row of spandrel boards had to be created.

The old, dilapidated gutters were replaced with copper ones.

In 1930, a large opening similar to the barn doors on the same floor was made on the site of the silkworm nursery to allow hay bales to pass through. But the threshold was made of simple concrete and did not fit in with the other thresholds. Ghislaine and Benoît looked for a stone similar to the one used for the other openings, the Canigou blue stone, a hard stone close to marble which could withstand the impact of tools when passing through the hay bales. The local quarry being closed, we finally opted for stone from Tavel, near Avignon. Two large stones weighing 600kg and three 80kg corbels had to be brought in, then cut on site and hoisted up there. The stones were placed on the neighbour's window with the help of a backhoe and then transported with inclined planes and rollers to their final destination: a job worthy of the pyramids!

Interior design

The two staircases leading to the flats were in a very poor state of repair and required extensive work. Their location on the south side of the building made them ideal for the living quarters. They were therefore demolished and replaced by a single staircase on the north side. This is a rather imposing baluster staircase which contributes to the quality of the building.

The traditional caïrou windowsills were all broken. To give more elegance to this building in conversion, Benoît, who knew the work of ashlar, undertook to replace them with stone sills. After researching several quarries, Ghislaine and Benoît found a stone in Catalonia, near Lérida, that was perfectly suited to the task: non-greying, homogeneous, easy to work with and of a warm colour that matched the plaster of our old walls. So sills were laid, thicker and moulded on the ground floor, a little less on the first floor and even simpler on the second floor.

As far as the organisation of the outdoor space is concerned, the environment was quite wild. A shepherd still came to look after his sheep and took his flock to graze in the fields and vineyards. Then, after a few years of cohabitation, the shepherd's retirement and the owners' need to take over the property, the departure of the shepherd marked the end of rural life and the beginning of a new life dedicated to welcoming holidaymakers and then brides and grooms, parties and other important events.

On the mountain side, a garden was designed by a landscape gardener friend who tried to respond with his work to the vigour of the Catalan architecture and to enhance it. This is the sunny side, sheltered from the wind and planted with Mediterranean species. A Lerida stone fountain was cut and installed against the north wall.

On the plain side, terraces were created which show the great length on a promontory which enhances it. The view is magnificent: the plain as far as the eye can see, the golf course of Montescot and in the background the small village of Corneilla del Vercol. The railings were made from the grids of the stable's feeding troughs supported by caïroux posts and crowned with a plaque and a ball made of Lerida stone.

A monumental staircase, also in ashlar and controlled by two large pillars, leads to the lower level where a large esplanade has been laid out with a border of young oak trees.

The reception room.

The wedding of their eldest daughter in 2010 was the occasion for Ghislaine and Benoît to realise how suitable this magical place was for receptions. The former stable was used as a storage area and was ideally suited as a reception hall: the space and location were very suitable.

For the caterer and the annexes to the hall, a building with a flat roof was added to give privacy to the area surrounding the hall. Of course, this building is entirely clad in old rubble stone with a bed of ancient caïroux, identical to the building against which it is set. A vaulted ceiling supporting a staircase adds a touch of charm to this new building and to the hall's terrace.

SEE THE RECEPTION AREAS