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Les Propriétaires du Presbytère

March 20, 2007
09:50 AM

I like this photo which my beau frère, Martin Lyes (certainly a French name) took of Síle and I at the door of the new house at the new year.
Looking suitably proprietorial I think.

Note the boot scrapers at our sides, an indication, neighbour Petra Carter tells us, that the house was originally a Maison de Vigneron and not a presbytery.
The excellent guide to the village backs this up as it tells us that the original presbytery was down the street but became a girls school in the 1900’s, this, presumably, being when number 14 became the new priest’s house.
There is a date of 1923 over the door but this must have been the date of a renovation, the best guess so far is that the house, like many others on the street, dates from sometime between 1750 and 1800.
Note also the panel of, now faded, scumbling (a painting technique to give the appearance of wood) topped with a cement rail of mock wood at the bottom of the outside wall. I havn’t noticed this detail on any other house in the village.
We still havn’t decided on a name but are committed to doing so on our next visit at Easter.
Le Vieux Presbytère and L’Ancien Presbytère and even Le Presbytère de Thèzan lès Béziers ( shortened to Le Pres de Thez les Bez maybe- I jest!) are all canditates.
These are all worthy but a little dull. We are hoping that the balmy Hérault air will inspire us to something a little better.

Comments

  1. Peter Denman

    on March 25, 2007

    Salut, Martin,
    Looking well – building and proprietors. If you own a presbytery, does that make you Presbyterians? In that spirit, here are some suggested names for the resaurant, some of them after a bit of ferreting in a dictionary:
    Le Presbytère Ian Paisley
    Le Presbytère Myope
    La Regale du Curé
    La Cure Gastronomique
    A Table du Curé.
    The first two are just warmer-uppers – I discovered the word “presbyte” which prompted the second. And I found that “cure”, without the accent, is another word for “presbytere”. But Le Vieux Presbytere sounds fine to me – except that from your account it might not be that “vieux” after all, so “ancien” maybe.
    Peter

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