Jardin de Bois Richeux

Type :

Médieval garden

The medieval farm of Bois Richeux is one of the oldest farms in France, it was established during the Celtic period, at the centre of the Carnutes forest. In 1178, as it became a Free City of Chartres Chapter, it gave refuge to the first free peasants. Throughout the Middle Ages, it prospered, as a large fortified farm with manor, chapel, tithe barn (XIIth century) and dovecot (1364). Madame de Maintenon and Louis XIV purchased it in 1674.
The medieval garden at Bois Richeux is a testimony to this outstanding historical record.
Around the seigneurial residence, aromatic herbs, condiments and simples grow together in a checkerboard sheltered garden. An intimate courtyard protected from eyesight and from local winds by a fine trellis of climbing vines and osier, contains the medieval kitchen garden and courtly flowers.
Its hornbeam cloister, leading from the chamber of love to the chamber of meditation is a reminder that the Jardin de Bois Richeux is, more than a vegetal conservatory, a spiritual itinerary into the symbolics of the Middle Ages.