Fermette située au hameau de la Gaverie
Monument
Fermette située au hameau de la Gaverie, located in Courset (Pas-de-Calais), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Courset, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.6402, 1.8537
- Mérimée Reference
- PA62000072
In the heart of the Boulonnais region, this mid-19th-century farmhouse embodies the authenticity of vernacular Artesian architecture: cob on flint flashing, traditional purlins and a period bread oven.
History
Nestling in the hamlet of La Gaverie, in the commune of Courset in the Pas-de-Calais, this modest farmhouse is one of the most intact examples of 19th-century rural architecture in the Boulonnais region. Far removed from the great castles and abbeys that dot the heritage of northern France, it represents another form of heritage, that of everyday farming life, local building skills and an intimate relationship between man and the land. The first thing that strikes you is the coherence of the whole: the low house, folded in on itself, seems to have been there forever. Its flashing of flint - a stone characteristic of the chalky soils of the Boulonnais region - supports cob walls whose slightly bumpy texture evokes the skills of the rural mason of yesteryear. The artesian purlin roof, with its deep red canal tiles, gives the building the warm character typical of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais countryside. The interior is perhaps the most precious surprise. There is a large, imposing farmhouse fireplace, around which work and family life were combined. The bread oven, still intact, is a reminder that each rural farm was a self-sufficient world, capable of providing for the essentials. The original woodwork - shutters, doors, panelling - completes a picture of rare authenticity, where nothing has been redone or smoothed over to please the tourist. The barn set back from the courtyard, perpendicular to the dwelling, forms an enclosed rural space, typical of the layout of Boulogne farms. This combination of courtyard, house and barn forms the basic functional unit of an old farm, a layout that can be found throughout the region but is rarely so well preserved. A visit to the Gaverie farmhouse is like immersing yourself in the world of 19th-century small-scale farmers and craftsmen, far removed from museum reconstructions. The green setting of the Boulonnais countryside, with its gentle valleys and hedged farmland, amplifies this impression of travelling back in time without artifice.
Architecture
The Gaverie farmhouse is a remarkably coherent example of vernacular rural architecture in the Boulonnais region. The main building is a low, single-storey house with a modest, squat silhouette that is suited to the region's climatic constraints: prevailing westerly winds, frequent rain and harsh winters. The flint flashing, a layer of hard stone laid on a low foundation to protect the walls from rising damp, is a technical solution typical of the chalky soils of the Pas-de-Calais, where flint outcrops are abundant. On this base rest walls of cob, a mixture of clay, chopped straw and sometimes animal hair, the generous thickness of which ensures good thermal inertia. The roof, covered with artesian purlins - interlocking tiles of a characteristic red, traditionally produced in the region - has a slope adapted to the drainage of abundant rainwater. The barn, set back from the courtyard, forms an L-shaped ensemble with the dwelling house, opening onto a semi-enclosed courtyard, which is typical of the small farm in the Boulogne region. This back-to-back layout optimises both protection from the wind and surveillance of the animals and crops from the dwelling. The interior reveals the building's most precious features. The large farmhouse fireplace, made of stone or brick according to local tradition, was the central hearth of domestic life, a place for cooking, heating and socialising. The bread oven, either next to or adjoining the fireplace, completed the heating and cooking facilities. The original joinery - door frames, shutters and interior woodwork - has retained its 19th-century profile and patina, making it a rare and valuable piece of furniture for our knowledge of the region's popular decorative arts.
Related Figures
Artisans maçons boulonnais du milieu du XIXe siècle, bâtisseurs anonymes maîtrisant la technique du torchis sur solin de silexFamilles paysannes du hameau de la Gaverie, occupants et gardiens de la fermette au fil des générationsInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques ayant instruit le dossier d'inscription en 2007Artisans charpentiers et menuisiers locaux, auteurs des boiseries et menuiseries d'origine conservéesConservateurs régionaux du patrimoine du Pas-de-Calais, acteurs de la reconnaissance et de la sauvegarde de l'architecture vernaculaire boulonnaise
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Fermette située au hameau de la Gaverie located?
Fermette située au hameau de la Gaverie is located in Courset, Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Fermette située au hameau de la Gaverie built?
Fermette située au hameau de la Gaverie dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Fermette située au hameau de la Gaverie open to visitors?
Fermette située au hameau de la Gaverie is currently closed to visitors.