This building was erected in 1683 about the same time that the royal court moved from the Louvre in Paris to Versailles. It was the official accommodation of both the controller of the water gates and the official in charge of fountain maintenance. There was originally a huge lead tank of drinkable water at the back of the building. The water, coming from springs in nearby Marly and Le Chesnay forests, was redistributed in the neighbourhood at eleven fountains. This house was one of the first designed to match the palace, following the regulations defined by Louis XIV for the new city's development. It stands next to the queen's stables which I showed you here. (I am indebted to Nicolas Jacquet whose wonderful book 'Versailles secret et insolite' helped me along the way!)Ce bâtiment, érigé en 1683, est contemporain de l'installation de la cour à Versailles. C'était le logement de fonction du contrôleur des vannes et du préposé chargé de l'entretien des fontaines. A l'origine se trouvait à l'arrière une cuve de plomb d'eau potable provenant de sources des forêts de Marly et du Chesnay. L'eau était redistribuée dans le quartier par onze fontaines. Cette maison a été l'une des premières bâties "à la livrée du château", c'est-à-dire suivant les normes fixées par Louis XIV pour l'harmonie architecturale de la ville neuve avec le château. Elle se trouve à côté des écuries de la reine que je vous montrais ici.
(Mes vifs remerciements vont à Nicolas Jacquet et son excellent ouvrage "Versailles secret et insolite" que je cite et traduis ici).
27 comments:
What a wonderful structure and backstory. What shocked me was the 'lead tank' for the drinking water...
Wow ! Wunderbar, dass es so gut erhalten und gepflegt ist.
Einen guten Freitag dir.
the architecture is quite magnificent! excellent photo!
I would love to live there! I really like the style.
Drinkable water in a lead tank? Where were the environmental protection authorities?
Charming building. You could talk me into living here. Well, as long as the lead tank was replaced. ;-D
@ all: environmental authorities in the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries? Lol, really?
Contrôleur des vannes ? Un boulot idéal quand on aime bien rire.
Wonderful Architecture!
pas facile à faire les carreaux
Bien belle l'architecture telle que tu nous la fais decouvrir.
It's very beautiful! Funny to think now that people would put drinking water in a lead tank. Is this a historical site or does someone live here?
C'est difficile pour moi pour comprendre ces vannes(j'ai regardé le dictionnaire)c'est ne pas un problème de langue ( je sais quel est le sens).Ahh ça va, je mène des recherches sur cette question et je vais essayer de trouver les images.
Belle architecture et magnifique photo!Une façade charmante!
bisous
Léia
This is the kind of architecture I like and in a very good shape!
It's a gorgeous building and now must be an historical site, right? Fascinating commentary, too. Drinking water was always a problem and I'd guess that the tank and fountains were not too sanitary.
wonderful post, ciel.
Fascinating history, especially the lead tank part.
Pretty grand for a water works!
Gorgeous little house! I enjoyed reading this post.
I love the little pops of color!
V
I love this building!
By the way, the last photo in my post wasn't taken in Dublin, of course! You're really observant:)
Have you eaten in Witchery? I wonder if it's really as good as they claim it is:)
Hugs
j.
Hard to believe this structure is from the late 1600's. Beautiful architecture.
What a grand residence.
@ Halcyon: I'm not sure but judging by the flower planters on the windowsills, the curtains and the antenna on the roof, I assume that someone is in there! :-)
Controller of the water gates, and a wonderful home to go with the job.
So interesting, the story.
Really interesting post, Ciel! And a beautiful building :D
It's always so wonderful to learn about the history of Versailles through your images and words Ciel.
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