The underground room with thick stone walls and attached tunnel, is most likely the ice-room. In Sweden these rooms were introduced from France in the 12th century, by the Cisterciense Orden from Clairvaux. Every chateau, big house and monestary had them. In December/January ice was taken from a lake in big blocks and put under sawdust to be insulated. Still there was a constant melting during sommer, which needed tunnels to gather the meltingwater and lead it outside. There should be a system of doors so direct sunlight never reached the ice. The ice room was made of hewn stone, very thick and should always be underground, preferably facing north. In early autumn the ice was usually completely melted and the room was dried and cleaned waiting for the next batch in December/January. In this way food and drink were preserved and kept cool during spring and summer. All the way up to electricity and refrigerators in the 20th century. Because of this system, it was possible to have ice cream for desert in the 18th century.
My old neighbors grew up in the Adirondacks and cut ice from their pond in the winter. The men hauled the horses and wagon out with bales of straw and cut the very heavy blocks then transported the ice to the ice house.They described their ice house as a cave into the side of the hill lined with slabs of rock. But the tunnels here look to narrow for a body to haul the blocks of ice in and out. It looks like a child or small adult has to get on their hands and knees and crawl in and out. Good idea but not sure.
Ash, you have an exceptionally well-designed work yard. In general, grand houses would have had: pig pens, cow pens, stables, coach house, possibly sheep pens, bakery, butchery, smoke house, laundry, ice house, water cisterns, root cellars, greenhouse and hay barns -- not forgetting workshops for farriery, carpentry, canning and salting food. These kinds of work places would often seem randomly built. Because your estate is so well-designed, that row of rooms could easily have accommodated many of those tasks. The upper rooms might have housed a couple of staff, with animals below providing heat so fireplaces weren't "needed." The room with beams pegged to the lower walls was partly rendered (clean space for animals?) and the upper room above it has a sheet of lime render hanging there (residence?) The end room looks like it has a series of pintels in the wall - could they have held dividers for animal stalls? And yes, the upper room with the peacock hole looks like a residence. Donkey's house was clearly a greenhouse/orangerie, and the next room was a perfect smokehouse, because whatever source of heat was used would have warmed both spaces. I agree with others that the tunnel space was an ice house. So, in this video you've shown 12 spaces for the estate's function. Any more videos on outbuildings would be welcome!
The Chateau would have been self sustaining so this looks to me like the working portion of. The property. Including pig sty, dairy (2-3) cows as well as room for churning butter, laundry (hense some sort of water heating system) room for chickens & at least one plow horse. The small upper levels for hay & feed. The laundry room would have been tiled. But essentially this was the working portion of the Chateau (maybe even cook house) because nothing would have been done inside the Chateau for its necessities. Would love to have seen long shots of the entire rooms rather than bits of it. I’m 74 & recall my Grandmother telling me stories but also having separate space for preparing things. Seems logical all would have been kept in one area. Garden, chickens, dairy, pigs, laundry rooms & plow animals (oxen, donkeys or plow horse) at least it’s the way Grandma explained it. Temp Help would have also used the hay lofts for sleeping. Vegetable storage…. This area would have housed all needed to run the big house…. Might I add especially the laundry rooms & dairy. By the 1920s-30s electricity would have brought modern convenience….. one must remember this totally functioning home would have been disrupted by 3 wars…. The Nepolianic but mostly WW 1&2. France was devastated by WW2 30s-50s & economically wiped out taking years to restore. My history lesson for the day lol! Love you guys! Sending 🙏🏻 & ❤️ … love your dreams!😊 Darlene from Nashville Tennessee! 👍🏼
If your schedule allows, you might invite some locals (farmers, history buffs, anyone who might have memories) to have a group meander around the buildings (and enjoying the Spring gorgeousness) and they could show your video to any elderly townspeople who aren't up to the ramble. Some old stories and working knowledge could pool together and get the town buzzing with possible ideas and memories. Have you spread the word around the town that you'd love a peek at any old pictures of the place? Is there a webpage or easy-to-access book or forum for locals to record any stories and memories of the chateau; a literal or virtual "memory book"?
Exactly what I was thinking. Local families might remember stories about life at the chateau. Local farmers might know how things were done in “the old days.“ And the ice storage comment above makes sense. Your chateau would certainly have an ice house.
That tunnel room is to keep water from infiltrating the animal stalls...in the winter when the water table rises it would seep into the stalls for cows and horses and water will rot their hoofs...also when an excessive storm drops rain on the Chateau then the water would slip into the tunnel and take it's detour instead of going into the animals rooms and giving them hoof rot or drowning chickens....
Yes, lower parts of your land might very well have had water coming through odd places in the spring when ice melted. In Maine, in the US there were such annual “freshets” in the Spring. Our family’s farm, built by an ancestor in 1810 had, and still sometimes has freshets.
Gates? There's another set of gates we haven't seen? Oooo! How exciting. Honestly, this exploration is utterly captivating. I'm enjoying the speculation as much as the tour, and I've never spent so much time reading the comment section as I have in the last few videos! I've learned so much. Thank you, Ash and Terry, for taking the time out of your more focused restoration to show us more of this fascinating property.
It would be interesting to see what an architectural historian in your region could say about the puzzling details of these buildings. I think they hold great potential to repurpose. Thanks for sharing !
Put a Go-Pro on Patrick's head and send him through the tunnel. Have a great little treat for him when he finishes. Or, maybe Pandora is more up to the task.
I love the idea of romantic couples accommodation, make them one story with a sleeping loft, a small sitting area, sky lights, composting toilets, solar shower and power with a small fridge and tea/coffee station, with wine glasses of course. The little cafe you mentioned could provide room service breakfasts & picnic basket lunches or be a communal kitchen for meals and special meals taken at the Chateau. Imagine waking up in that beautiful vegi patch with all the grounds to explore or just lazing in the sun or under a tree. LOVE IT!
I would check maybe with some universities or something and see if you can get a historical architect to come and take a look at those buildings that would be so much fun to find out what someone like that has to say😊 They are wonderful ❤😍
The tunnel is air venting, the rooms on the other side are for food storage, those rooms would be very damp without the air circulation. Each room would be for different food groups… meat curing, root veg, and possibly corn cobs etc. The vents in the walls would have had shutters on them to keep vermin out and every year they would have been ‘smoked’ by lighting a fire at one end of the tunnel and pushing smoke through to kill of rats, snakes etc within the tunnel and to keep it clean.
Ash, you are a natural explorer! You’re a history nerd, we already knew they but this vlog had confirmed it! You are desperately wanting to understand the out buildings and the way the chateau works lived and worked and I think that is admirable. Once you have researched and digested all the comments, suggestions and expert advice from historians, I’d love you to replay this vlog with explanations of why things were the way they were originally built and if they were adapted, why they were adapted, and lastly if they were abandoned, why they were abandoned. All this info would give you the authority to reuse the buildings you’ve shown us in new ways such as gites. However if they were significant you could semi restore them and make a historical park where you show how an old chateau worked and how it provided so much employment to the local area. Hundreds depended on the local chateaux and the local religious places like abbeys etc. The locals were dependent on them for employment. Just a wild thought but I think a valid one from you friend down under, Neil in Australia 🇦🇺
Ash the room with the vent could have been a food storage room like veggies and such. It would have stayed cool most of the year. The room with hooks in the ceiling could maybe be for hanging onions, potatoes, or your idea of hanging meat. The farm would have provided all it's own food needs and need places to store all of it. Just some thoughts. Take Care
I think Marilyn is on the right path- the more cold hardy veg would be kept in the last room with its ventilation, the centre room with hooks( those hooks are too small for meat ) is perfect for strands of onions and since there is that small metal door to the ' barn', that door would be opened in winter to allow heat from the animals to creep into the store rooms.
The secrets/stories that the outbuildings could tell. Yes, this segment was absolutely amazing and would love to see more including old maps of the grounds. Awesome segment, loved it.
This was fascinating. I would love to see the rest of the property. I'm looking forward to videos of cleaning all the debris out to see what's underneath both inside the buildings and outside. The loose plaster on the walls may be hiding more clues behind it. Thank you for sharing. Great editing too!!!
Loving the videos showing the history and mysteries of the property. You need to find a historian/restoring person who knows about the buildings back in this time period.
I think that the lower level was used for animal shelters and the space above for feed storage or sleeping quarters, the entrances to the upper floors were doors for access from the space in front of the chateau. Our old Napoleonic farmhouse in the Charente was built on a hill side and originally the top floor was for animals with only one big barn door opening at one end and the lower floor had doors along one side for the family to live in a series of rooms. On the upper floor there was a narrow entrance leading to the tower which was an access point into the animal section from the family quarters. It’s fascinating finding out about the history of your home.
Here is what i think. This was a working farm with lots of fields of grain. When harvesting the grain it had to go somewhere. The spots that you think are windows are grain shoots. The tunnel that you see probably was a grain mill with a rope or belt going thru it that operated a grain thrasher. Yes they raised pigs and cows for slaughter, horses for working the fields. The hooks for hanging up meat to dry or smoke it or even to dry herbs. In your previous video you showed a bread oven that burned the castle, that was what the grain was for. Lot of people where needed to work this farm so a lot of livestock and food was needed.
I’m guessing that building with the curved door could maybe have been a guard barracks, or a set of tack rooms, or hay/grain storage? Makes me wish you had Time Team over there. Haha
You are a great tour guide of your property, Ashley! I had no idea there were so many buildings. You have a mini village there. I am looking forward to hearing about the history of the buildings. Great video! ❤
I completely agree! Ash is an awesome tour guide! Terry brings you in with 'look at this...' & Ash just jumps right in. I too love learning more about all of the buildings & what they provided. (LOVE the maps! They are helpful) Im guessing the rubble in the forest was probably a mother-in-laws cottage or for the staff of any prominent visitor maybe??
The heat generated from the manure travels through the hollow walls to grow pineapples, during Victorian times like THE lost Garden of Heligan in Cornwall. So heating system of this kind is a brilliant way to heat to grow.
The long stone building is called a longere, a combination residence, storage and animal barn used by peasant french farmers. Lots of info online to read about those. Many of the farm servants would have lived in the longere, with only 3 or 4 house staff living in the chateau. There had to be at least 10 to 20 farm workers to run an estate of the extent it was then. They would have looked after rabbits, sheep, cattle, oxen, work and riding horses and various game birds and chickens. In addition, they grew all kinds of crops, fruits, and vegetables using only animal and man power, in addition to maintaining the grounds and gardens. And in their spare time, they cut and stacked wood for all those fireplaces. Whew! Not an easy life. I agree with others who think the deep chamber would have been a cold store for meat and produce storage, maybe with partitioned levels for different temperatures. I'd suggest researching whether there are any historical reproduction farms or villages around that you could visit. The staff there could answer so many of your questions. Oh, I found a stock photo site that has many photos that could have come from Chateau la Lacelle. There's one with a cottage much like yours that even has an old cart like the one you just put at the new entrance. Might even be an opportunity there to offer some to add to their portfolio. You have such a unique property, and it's a gift that you share it with us. Thank you. www.alamy.com/stock-photo/french-stone-barn.html
in de laatste kamer zitten ijzeren haken aan de muur hier heeft een balk achter gezeten waar de vloer op ruste., bij de witte deur zie je nog een stulk balk achter een haak
Since the door opens to the what would have been a formal garden - chances are it was for gardeners to come and go with quick acccess to the garden and to disappear into when important people come along. Access for gardeners and tools and gardening supplies.
Yes yes yes please can you do more on the other buildings and gates it’s so interesting to see and hear what you know about the chateau and other buildings etc. just loving them.😀
Thanks for another very interesting vedeo. The room with the ceiling hooks could have been for hanging game, like venison, pheasants, hams and root vegatables. The holes in the walls would have kept a steady air flow through the room, keeping it cool.
Interesting vlog.I think the tunnel is a means to alleviate damp and mould in the walls.The rooms above with traces of plaster would have been human accommodation,kept warm by animals below.Maybe this area would be a good place for some volunteers to dig out the floors .Perhaps some archeology or farming students might enjoy excavating and know what the rooms are used for.Also contact elderly locals to see if anyone worked in them or had relatives who did. Contact Jonathan’s school,this might be an interesting project for them and the children might have grandparents or great grandparents who might know about the Chateau.
When you have the time and energy to clean out the rooms, your medal detector could help you find original artifacts that would give you clues to the purpose of each room if it has a dirt floor.
It looks like a huge antique refrigerator! They didn’t have one during those times so the rich people could build a food storage house! Just my thoughts! Very interesting! Thank you for sharing! ❤️
💕The orangery would of had hot water pipes inside these were to keep the room at a constant temperature as they would often use these rooms to grow seedlings ready to plant out in the spring💕The split in the floor level could of housed animals below & farm workers bunks above💕
Have a good possibility to what the “tunnel” could be on the last set of buildings. I actually have that in my house’s lower level, and house is less than 25 years old! It’s a ‘cold air chase’. An ancient building technique to help with moisture and temperature control. You have an outer wall built against the dirt below ground level, that most often has water and/or moisture on that wall so you build another inner wall a foot to two feet from that problem wall to help with the moisture issues. This keeps things drier and helps keep temperatures inside building a pretty constant 8-10C. If there is any piping in that chase it could have been used as temperature control to keep things cooler in summer - add cold water - or warmer in winter with hot water. A basic thermostat that could prevent the disaster of losing your food supply by just raising or lowering temperature by a degree or two. Last room in that building most likely a root cellar, as we call it in North America. No windows (keeps stored vegetables from sprouting in sunlight) and the few small openings you found provide a bit of ventilation to help with mold. Wood around walls would have been slatted shelving - slightly spaced apart for air circulation - to keep squashes and such on and wooden boxes you fill with sand to store you carrots and root vegetables over the winter. Apples would have been stored in there too. Everything built up off floor to help with rodent control. Middle room you are likely correct - meat storage. Metal turning grate, ventilation control and to help with rodent control. Likely added later. To big of an area to ever smoke meats, store yes, but smokers are usually a meter or two square - have to heat constantly for days and fire would make you have away from other buildings as a precaution. Other end room with big window openings could have been more animal quarters but I think a greenhouse with all that light. No ice house would have been that close to animal quarters due to sanitation. Would have been closer to your lake, hard work to haul large blocks of ice. You send your servant out to chop off what you need as you need. Could have been large pit in ground lined with clay and straw and wooden top or more elaborate stone structure. In first set of out buildings piggery - momma pig and piglets in one, daddy pig separate so he doesn’t eat babies. Possibly goats too. All small animal husbandry. Could have been living areas above ( heat rises from animals below, unfortunately so does the smell!) or gardening equipment storage or other storage. Might have gone through all those at various times. End room with small arch into lower garden terrace and lovely large arch doorway. That’s a puzzle. Have you looked at exterior wall above lovely arched doorway? Wonder if there ever was something like a wench to lower things down and up? If that level garden level was an orchard, perhaps that small opening was added to push baskets of picked fruit through then hoist down from lovely arched door to food storage area instead of having to haul it around further. Maybe they had a grumpy lazy gardener that wanted that but owner wanted something aesthetically pleasing so an arched small opening added. Same with door and window openings along wall. Maybe owner wanted door, window, door, window, window and door or some configuration that owner liked no matter if it wasn’t really functional on other side.
That was such an interesting tour...it's like a whole new world around there....if the walls could talk! I sure look forward to seeing you work on that! Thank you so much for the tour!
I have loved the last two videos and read ALL of the comments. I’ve thought for a long time it would be great to invite a class of architectural history students and their lecturer to come and camp at the ppty for the week, go away to do some research then make a video with them touring/presenting their ideas/findings! It’s sooo exciting! There’s been some great ideas in the comments.
Wow, the out buildings are more complicated than I would have expected!! And the buildings are all stone. A lot of thought & design went into them as Ash said! Hmmm 🤔, can't wait to hear about the tunnel. I am not going to ask you to tear yourselves away from work, but these videos show your Chateau is much more complicated and extensive than many others I've seen. Fascinating! Thank you very much!
Hi guys also! Something to consider is the water table from the top of the land to the bottom. It’s possible the tunnel was just a way of removing water from higher land to lower with creating issues with the buildings. As if the chateau was moved higher and the land built up after then maybe , there would of been areas that could culminate water. So that was put in as, like a sink well to remove water away. Just a thought!
My guess about the opening in your paint-spraying room is that it was for hay delivery for whatever animals were kept in that stall. Some of those rooms could have been used to make or store wine.
Ash, the tunnel I believe is a drainage system that would go around the building and the sown pipes from the chateau would have all lead into there and perhaps the water would have drained away near the animal sheds or as a supply of water for the animals.
I would love to see more. Have you consulted with the archeology dept of a university, it could turn out to be a learning experience for both the students and yourselves.
I'm having a lovely walk about, imagining, pondering, questioning what processes were done in the past, enjoying birdsong, and a pleasant visit with people who feel like family... in France. 🥰🥰xx
Absolutely loved outbuilding exploring , I’m astounded re their solid condition including roof. Loved all those little details you pointed out. Very impressive tour Ash. Let us know , someone’s got to know.
It seems the building with the closed up windows and door were for storage of the crop behind the building. It would quick access from the field to storage.
The buildings are amazing, so much history. I hope you can save them and bring them back to life! Thank you so much for the tour and please show us more! I would love to live somewhere like that!
the tunnel is a cold smoker, if you make a fire at the other end, and throw some damp wood over the fire, I am sure that within half an hour smoke will enter the bigger room, then just keep feeding the fire until your meat is smoked through. I'm 95% sure of that, and it's something you can just try out. I'm pretty sure I'm right.
I am mesmerized! I also LOVE exploring old buildings and figuring out what their purpose was! Thank you for these views of some of the structures on your property! There are many viewers who have studied old building techniques and they may well be able to provide some insight that can point you in the right direction👏🏻🥰
Hi Everyone it. Fantastic to see what got on your land for you work on in the summer time when the weather will be better may be Tony be back to give you all a hand . Have the window arrived yet and how is the room getting on can’t wait to see how that Apartment going to look when Terry finished . Well take care all. Xxx
I enjoy your exploration of the grounds and out buildings. It will be interesting to find out what everything was as you uncover the history of your lovely home.
I believe the orangerie was actually a vacherie: cow shed and milking room. They generally had stone paved (later concreted) floors that could be washed of manure. The hanging hay feeders sort of give it away, although I don't know about the hooks in the ceiling. The muck on the floors Ash was scraping away would be fabulous compost. I think the little stone lined tunnel is for water drainage of some sort - laundry, animal shed clean outs, run off. But it is strange that it leads to a deep crevasse between 2 buildings. You're absolutely right that is was not for heating. Those systems are quite specific, and built with ceramic "pipes". I'm fascinated by all the various door and window styles of the long building with the slanted roof. You could date the progress just form those. And why are the 2nd & 3rd rooms plastered? I don't see a pigeonaire, as those always have roosting holes in the walls. When you eventually get around to digging the rubble off the floors of the deeper rooms, you may have more clues. I absolutely love these tours, and all the guessing about what it could have been! You asked if we want more, so my vote is an emphatic YES. I'm looking forward to seeing the area where the old building on the map was after it's mowed. If you have dry weather for a few days after mowing, fly the drone above to see if you can spot any parch marks or signs of walls.
@@rosebudame Me too! They aren't of a weight to carry big hams, nor is the room underground, where meat drying is usually done. After thinking about it, they are probably for tobacco drying, as others have suggested, although that probably pre-dated the cow shed.
Perhaps as breaks from all of your hardwork, you could visit some chateau that have more intact out buildings. Or museums or recreated historical places where daily life is depicted. You might discover some of those features you are wondering about. Although not as old in the USA we have Plymouth plantation, sturdbridge village and Williamsburg.
Hi guys I suspect that the tunnel behind the orangerie is a damp proofing cavity to try and stop the walls of the lower rooms from going mouldy. With the rooms above the pig sty it is odd that the wall have been rendered so that their usage was of a more domestic nature than agricultural. Interesting!! Please show more. Ian
I am a little surprised you haven’t responded to my question on Tony. He has been a very important part of the Chateau’s recovery, yet at the moment it is like he never existed.
Think the first buildings was for working and living. The workers houses were very small in the old days. Stable personal slept next to their cattle and hay, gardners slept nearby their garden, etc. Its not like this any more, but then it was how they lived. Hay went upstairs, and often lifted out of a window with door on the 1st floor (in case of heavy rain it will stay dry) One of my ancestors was a villlage sheppard in the 1800's and his house looks the same. yes it still stands. The orangerie is the part with the big windows, plants need light, the part next to it to hold working stuff for example. What a gem you have there, beautiful old stones and still standing. So many uses for those buildings, just wow. The small vent is for heating or release of heating!! Its cast iron or iron then its for heat. If it was an orangerie a heating system through terra cotta pipes went through it. Maybe you can see if you can find pieces of terra cotta in the small tunnels. If so, its heating with warm air.
They would have had a blacksmith area for shoeing horses and fixing wagons and carriages. They would have had dog kennels, wash house, summer kitchen, slaughter house. Hay storage, A threshing house where they stored the thresher and hemp bundles, they may have had a dye house and a drying house - like a kiln they can heat the underneath to have warm air rise to dry the crops, the hooks hold the rods that the plants/fibres are draped over. They might have had a leather curing area as well. The village would bring their goods to the Chateau to process them paying the chateau owner a % for use of the facility. some of the tunnels would be for sewage/drainage (ancient Greek/Scottish construction techniques). The structures for horses were really nice - like a really nice garage for your cars these days. There might even have been a building for processing cider from apples and other fruits. If you check the history of the area for what the farmers grew, what fabrics they used you will get a better idea of what buildings you had pre ww2. pre ww1. Some buildings were converted after ww1 and the others converted after ww2 when people could go to a store for most of their needs. Partridge was a staple at the dinner table at one time, they most likely had several types of fowl on the grounds. A fully staffed house pre ww1 had a lot of mouths to feed. The local Chateau was like a communal business where the locals worked for them or with them or made use of services/equipment in a barter. To imagine the place full of people all doing their assigned jobs from planting to harvest, taking care of the animals, milking cows, gathering eggs, storing harvest, processing food for winter, cooking, cleaning, laundry, baking bread, It would have been a very busy place. In some cases there were overnight attendants in the animal barns in a side room or upstairs from them - especially during birthing times and to prevent poachers.
@@ashleywaters7198 The lifestyle of the common people who worked for Lords is very interesting and at times gives a better description of what things were and what they were used for than the stories told about the Lords themselves. Archives will have some of the answers, but looking to a few countries where people still live as they once did will answer a boat load of questions. There are few channels on RUclips where they have gone and filmed, some are dubbed and others you just have to watch and learn as the language is not translated and they don't talk a lot. One a woman showed the entire process of making a shirt from cutting down bullrushes to weaving the fibre to finally starching the collar and ironing the pleats without the use of a hot iron - fascinating! all the little and big jobs that tied into other jobs/harvest/grain/meat/carpentry/blacksmithing that led to the making of one shirt. It really took a village to make that shirt.
Wow just wow Ash.... these vlogs give such a good look into what you guys are trying to achieve by showing the scope of the property, you and your family have such an amazing property and watching it being brought back to life is awesome!
Hi Ash! I am from the States and am new to your show! I just watched a video on History and they had something of the same tunnel mystery! The Video was titled, “Knights Templar Lair Found in Pennsylvania.” I tried to share the video, but I am 72, & not real up on computer stuff! Hope you find this valuable!
I’m in love with Al of these beautiful buildings and the historic features. I’ve read here some of the suggestions and thoughts which make good sense, but a self sustaining chateau, these buildings all had practical uses including as someone suggested an ice building. The details are amazing. I’m so thrilled you did this video, not only for us but also to document this history before you begin work on everything. Simply brilliant. You are truly the right family to own this chateau. Love these videos! xx
Cool dark dry places that are ventilated, Storage.. root cellar for potatoes beets carrots and overwinter apple store maybe ropes of onions garlic etc drying culinary and household herbs, growing mushrooms, making beer, forcing rhubarb. the tunnel could be like a hypocaust type thing to move hot air to heat a greenhouse hothouse or pinery for more tender veg and fruit
Sometimes these old places had a slaughter room... not saying that may be it... but they did have them close to wear they kept the animals, Doors to go to the chateau house after the meat was cleaned... They would keep sheep and other various animals to eat for occasions In the room's to fatn up... I agree with the peacocks 🦚👌 room area they were well taken care of...the had nesting room's as well I truly enjoyed watching this ☺ Tku for sharing these 😍 areas My love to all...💐💝
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The underground room with thick stone walls and attached tunnel, is most likely the ice-room. In Sweden these rooms were introduced from France in the 12th century, by the Cisterciense Orden from Clairvaux. Every chateau, big house and monestary had them. In December/January ice was taken from a lake in big blocks and put under sawdust to be insulated. Still there was a constant melting during sommer, which needed tunnels to gather the meltingwater and lead it outside. There should be a system of doors so direct sunlight never reached the ice. The ice room was made of hewn stone, very thick and should always be underground, preferably facing north. In early autumn the ice was usually completely melted and the room was dried and cleaned waiting for the next batch in December/January. In this way food and drink were preserved and kept cool during spring and summer. All the way up to electricity and refrigerators in the 20th century. Because of this system, it was possible to have ice cream for desert in the 18th century.
Reading through the comments after I made mine, same idea! 👍🏻
I had the same idea. I think there definitely would have been a place for ice storage on the property.
Your explanation was so interesting and I bet spot on. 😊 thanks
My old neighbors grew up in the Adirondacks and cut ice from their pond in the winter. The men hauled the horses and wagon out with bales of straw and cut the very heavy blocks then transported the ice to the ice house.They described their ice house as a cave into the side of the hill lined with slabs of rock. But the tunnels here look to narrow for a body to haul the blocks of ice in and out. It looks like a child or small adult has to get on their hands and knees and crawl in and out. Good idea but not sure.
And maybe the other rooms for drying out meats after slaughter??
Ash, you have an exceptionally well-designed work yard. In general, grand houses would have had: pig pens, cow pens, stables, coach house, possibly sheep pens, bakery, butchery, smoke house, laundry, ice house, water cisterns, root cellars, greenhouse and hay barns -- not forgetting workshops for farriery, carpentry, canning and salting food. These kinds of work places would often seem randomly built. Because your estate is so well-designed, that row of rooms could easily have accommodated many of those tasks. The upper rooms might have housed a couple of staff, with animals below providing heat so fireplaces weren't "needed." The room with beams pegged to the lower walls was partly rendered (clean space for animals?) and the upper room above it has a sheet of lime render hanging there (residence?) The end room looks like it has a series of pintels in the wall - could they have held dividers for animal stalls? And yes, the upper room with the peacock hole looks like a residence. Donkey's house was clearly a greenhouse/orangerie, and the next room was a perfect smokehouse, because whatever source of heat was used would have warmed both spaces. I agree with others that the tunnel space was an ice house. So, in this video you've shown 12 spaces for the estate's function. Any more videos on outbuildings would be welcome!
Maybe ask a couple of the older farmers in the area to visit. They may have had similar structures when they were younger.
The Chateau would have been self sustaining so this looks to me like the working portion of. The property. Including pig sty, dairy (2-3) cows as well as room for churning butter, laundry (hense some sort of water heating system) room for chickens & at least one plow horse. The small upper levels for hay & feed. The laundry room would have been tiled. But essentially this was the working portion of the Chateau (maybe even cook house) because nothing would have been done inside the Chateau for its necessities. Would love to have seen long shots of the entire rooms rather than bits of it. I’m 74 & recall my Grandmother telling me stories but also having separate space for preparing things. Seems logical all would have been kept in one area. Garden, chickens, dairy, pigs, laundry rooms & plow animals (oxen, donkeys or plow horse) at least it’s the way Grandma explained it. Temp Help would have also used the hay lofts for sleeping. Vegetable storage…. This area would have housed all needed to run the big house…. Might I add especially the laundry rooms & dairy.
By the 1920s-30s electricity would have brought modern convenience….. one must remember this totally functioning home would have been disrupted by 3 wars…. The Nepolianic but mostly WW 1&2. France was devastated by WW2 30s-50s & economically wiped out taking years to restore.
My history lesson for the day lol! Love you guys!
Sending 🙏🏻 & ❤️ … love your dreams!😊
Darlene from Nashville Tennessee! 👍🏼
I love the mystery. Every home should have some, whether it be a false doorway, wall safe, extra space with attic access etc.
If your schedule allows, you might invite some locals (farmers, history buffs, anyone who might have memories) to have a group meander around the buildings (and enjoying the Spring gorgeousness) and they could show your video to any elderly townspeople who aren't up to the ramble. Some old stories and working knowledge could pool together and get the town buzzing with possible ideas and memories. Have you spread the word around the town that you'd love a peek at any old pictures of the place? Is there a webpage or easy-to-access book or forum for locals to record any stories and memories of the chateau; a literal or virtual "memory book"?
Exactly what I was thinking. Local families might remember stories about life at the chateau. Local farmers might know how things were done in “the old days.“
And the ice storage comment above makes sense. Your chateau would certainly have an ice house.
A dairy room? The gardeners cottage? A stall? Hay storage? Smokehouse?
Yes yes yes more exploration
Ash is a natural on camera. Well done narrating the tour. I love these chateau grounds and outbuilding videos.
That tunnel room is to keep water from infiltrating the animal stalls...in the winter when the water table rises it would seep into the stalls for cows and horses and water will rot their hoofs...also when an excessive storm drops rain on the Chateau then the water would slip into the tunnel and take it's detour instead of going into the animals rooms and giving them hoof rot or drowning chickens....
That would be kind of a forerunner to what we in the U.S. now call a "french" drain.
Thanks Kevin. That makes a lot of sense. 😊😊
wow. brilliant werent they
Kevin, 👍you got it right, I was going to say that exact same thing. I lived on a farm when I was young and remember some of these features.
Yes, lower parts of your land might very well have had water coming through odd places in the spring when ice melted. In Maine, in the US there were such annual “freshets” in the Spring. Our family’s farm, built by an ancestor in 1810 had, and still sometimes has freshets.
Ash you definitely have the best on camera presence. You are the most relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera. Well done!
Gates? There's another set of gates we haven't seen? Oooo! How exciting. Honestly, this exploration is utterly captivating. I'm enjoying the speculation as much as the tour, and I've never spent so much time reading the comment section as I have in the last few videos! I've learned so much. Thank you, Ash and Terry, for taking the time out of your more focused restoration to show us more of this fascinating property.
It would be interesting to see what an architectural historian in your region could say about the puzzling details of these buildings. I think they hold great potential to repurpose. Thanks for sharing !
Put a Go-Pro on Patrick's head and send him through the tunnel. Have a great little treat for him when he finishes. Or, maybe Pandora is more up to the task.
I love the idea of romantic couples accommodation, make them one story with a sleeping loft, a small sitting area, sky lights, composting toilets, solar shower and power with a small fridge and tea/coffee station, with wine glasses of course. The little cafe you mentioned could provide room service breakfasts & picnic basket lunches or be a communal kitchen for meals and special meals taken at the Chateau. Imagine waking up in that beautiful vegi patch with all the grounds to explore or just lazing in the sun or under a tree. LOVE IT!
Yes they used to have ice rooms and hallways to use in the winter to take care or the animals. They were connected to the house.
Thank you for shoring us more about the chateau 🎉
I would check maybe with some universities or something and see if you can get a historical architect to come and take a look at those buildings that would be so much fun to find out what someone like that has to say😊 They are wonderful ❤😍
Absolutely loved being taken around your property ❤ more plz
The tunnel is air venting, the rooms on the other side are for food storage, those rooms would be very damp without the air circulation. Each room would be for different food groups… meat curing, root veg, and possibly corn cobs etc. The vents in the walls would have had shutters on them to keep vermin out and every year they would have been ‘smoked’ by lighting a fire at one end of the tunnel and pushing smoke through to kill of rats, snakes etc within the tunnel and to keep it clean.
This was fabulous,
More MORE 😊
Ash, you are a natural explorer! You’re a history nerd, we already knew they but this vlog had confirmed it!
You are desperately wanting to understand the out buildings and the way the chateau works lived and worked and I think that is admirable.
Once you have researched and digested all the comments, suggestions and expert advice from historians, I’d love you to replay this vlog with explanations of why things were the way they were originally built and if they were adapted, why they were adapted, and lastly if they were abandoned, why they were abandoned.
All this info would give you the authority to reuse the buildings you’ve shown us in new ways such as gites. However if they were significant you could semi restore them and make a historical park where you show how an old chateau worked and how it provided so much employment to the local area. Hundreds depended on the local chateaux and the local religious places like abbeys etc. The locals were dependent on them for employment.
Just a wild thought but I think a valid one from you friend down under, Neil in Australia 🇦🇺
Ash the room with the vent could have been a food storage room like veggies and such. It would have stayed cool most of the year. The room with hooks in the ceiling could maybe be for hanging onions, potatoes, or your idea of hanging meat. The farm would have provided all it's own food needs and need places to store all of it. Just some thoughts. Take Care
Thank you Marilyn. That all makes sense 😊
And it could have been for hay for the horses.
I think that room would have been a perfect dovecote. It explains the small opening and hooks for hanging nest boxes, etc.
I think Marilyn is on the right path- the more cold hardy veg would be kept in the last room with its ventilation, the centre room with hooks( those hooks are too small for meat ) is perfect for strands of onions and since there is that small metal door to the ' barn', that door would be opened in winter to allow heat from the animals to creep into the store rooms.
Yes!
YES Ash, EXPLORE!
Terrific vlog & Terry……beautiful music!
You are breathing new life into this magnificent place! I can imagine all those who came before, smiling down with pride.
LOVE THIS SHOW
The secrets/stories that the outbuildings could tell. Yes, this segment was absolutely amazing and would love to see more including old maps of the grounds. Awesome segment, loved it.
This was fascinating. I would love to see the rest of the property. I'm looking forward to videos of cleaning all the debris out to see what's underneath both inside the buildings and outside. The loose plaster on the walls may be hiding more clues behind it. Thank you for sharing. Great editing too!!!
Thank you! All Terrys hard work with the editing 😊
I would like to know what your going to use the buildings for. Hugs from NY
I was thinking the same thing about the plaster!
Yes - I am sure your audience is interested in these explorations, as am I. Ash is really good at it.
Loving the videos showing the history and mysteries of the property. You need to find a historian/restoring person who knows about the buildings back in this time period.
Love the new ‘Beginning’ to the video!
The stone steps are where the ladies climbed to get onto horseback. They rode side saddle and long skirts We have a lot here where I live.
whatever the cost of the Chateaux and land ,you obviously got a bargain . that's full of history and excitement ,
I think that the lower level was used for animal shelters and the space above for feed storage or sleeping quarters, the entrances to the upper floors were doors for access from the space in front of the chateau. Our old Napoleonic farmhouse in the Charente was built on a hill side and originally the top floor was for animals with only one big barn door opening at one end and the lower floor had doors along one side for the family to live in a series of rooms. On the upper floor there was a narrow entrance leading to the tower which was an access point into the animal section from the family quarters. It’s fascinating finding out about the history of your home.
Here is what i think. This was a working farm with lots of fields of grain. When harvesting the grain it had to go somewhere. The spots that you think are windows are grain shoots. The tunnel that you see probably was a grain mill with a rope or belt going thru it that operated a grain thrasher. Yes they raised pigs and cows for slaughter, horses for working the fields. The hooks for hanging up meat to dry or smoke it or even to dry herbs. In your previous video you showed a bread oven that burned the castle, that was what the grain was for. Lot of people where needed to work this farm so a lot of livestock and food was needed.
I so love you showing more of the outbuildings on your property! Totally enjoyable!
I’m guessing that building with the curved door could maybe have been a guard barracks, or a set of tack rooms, or hay/grain storage?
Makes me wish you had Time Team over there. Haha
Looks like you have decades of projects to keep us entertained.
That hole leading to orangery can be a water flow to provide water to garden.
You are a great tour guide of your property, Ashley! I had no idea there were so many buildings. You have a mini village there. I am looking forward to hearing about the history of the buildings. Great video! ❤
Thank you Noreen 😊
Yes, I had no idea your place had been so fully developed. Always thought it was sad that there was not more to it. How wrong I was!
I completely agree! Ash is an awesome tour guide! Terry brings you in with 'look at this...' & Ash just jumps right in. I too love learning more about all of the buildings & what they provided. (LOVE the maps! They are helpful)
Im guessing the rubble in the forest was probably a mother-in-laws cottage or for the staff of any prominent visitor maybe??
in the time of the chateau, it took a small village to keep things going!
The heat generated from the manure travels through the hollow walls to grow pineapples, during Victorian times like THE lost Garden of Heligan in Cornwall. So heating system of this kind is a brilliant way to heat to grow.
Yay! Jonathan's garden. 💚
Time team! 😊
The long stone building is called a longere, a combination residence, storage and animal barn used by peasant french farmers. Lots of info online to read about those. Many of the farm servants would have lived in the longere, with only 3 or 4 house staff living in the chateau. There had to be at least 10 to 20 farm workers to run an estate of the extent it was then. They would have looked after rabbits, sheep, cattle, oxen, work and riding horses and various game birds and chickens. In addition, they grew all kinds of crops, fruits, and vegetables using only animal and man power, in addition to maintaining the grounds and gardens. And in their spare time, they cut and stacked wood for all those fireplaces. Whew! Not an easy life.
I agree with others who think the deep chamber would have been a cold store for meat and produce storage, maybe with partitioned levels for different temperatures. I'd suggest researching whether there are any historical reproduction farms or villages around that you could visit. The staff there could answer so many of your questions.
Oh, I found a stock photo site that has many photos that could have come from Chateau la Lacelle. There's one with a cottage much like yours that even has an old cart like the one you just put at the new entrance. Might even be an opportunity there to offer some to add to their portfolio. You have such a unique property, and it's a gift that you share it with us. Thank you.
www.alamy.com/stock-photo/french-stone-barn.html
in de laatste kamer zitten ijzeren haken aan de muur hier heeft een balk achter gezeten waar de vloer op ruste., bij de witte deur zie je nog een stulk balk achter een haak
Donkey’s house would make a great common area for the camping people. Used as a showers and laundry area!
Since the door opens to the what would have been a formal garden - chances are it was for gardeners to come and go with quick acccess to the garden and to disappear into when important people come along. Access for gardeners and tools and gardening supplies.
That makes sense to me too Kirk 😊
Yes yes yes please can you do more on the other buildings and gates it’s so interesting to see and hear what you know about the chateau and other buildings etc. just loving them.😀
Thanks for another very interesting vedeo. The room with the ceiling hooks could have been for hanging game, like venison, pheasants, hams and root vegatables. The holes in the walls would have kept a steady air flow through the room, keeping it cool.
Interesting vlog.I think the tunnel is a means to alleviate damp and mould in the walls.The rooms above with traces of plaster would have been human accommodation,kept warm by animals below.Maybe this area would be a good place for some volunteers to dig out the floors .Perhaps some archeology or farming students might enjoy excavating and know what the rooms are used for.Also contact elderly locals to see if anyone worked in them or had relatives who did.
Contact Jonathan’s school,this might be an interesting project for them and the children might have grandparents or great grandparents who might know about the Chateau.
When you have the time and energy to clean out the rooms, your medal detector could help you find original artifacts that would give you clues to the purpose of each room if it has a dirt floor.
We will do that Bobbie :) 😊
It looks like a huge antique refrigerator! They didn’t have one during those times so the rich people could build a food storage house! Just my thoughts! Very interesting! Thank you for sharing! ❤️
💕The orangery would of had hot water pipes inside these were to keep the room at a constant temperature as they would often use these rooms to grow seedlings ready to plant out in the spring💕The split in the floor level could of housed animals below & farm workers bunks above💕
Have a good possibility to what the “tunnel” could be on the last set of buildings. I actually have that in my house’s lower level, and house is less than 25 years old! It’s a ‘cold air chase’. An ancient building technique to help with moisture and temperature control. You have an outer wall built against the dirt below ground level, that most often has water and/or moisture on that wall so you build another inner wall a foot to two feet from that problem wall to help with the moisture issues. This keeps things drier and helps keep temperatures inside building a pretty constant 8-10C. If there is any piping in that chase it could have been used as temperature control to keep things cooler in summer - add cold water - or warmer in winter with hot water. A basic thermostat that could prevent the disaster of losing your food supply by just raising or lowering temperature by a degree or two.
Last room in that building most likely a root cellar, as we call it in North America. No windows (keeps stored vegetables from sprouting in sunlight) and the few small openings you found provide a bit of ventilation to help with mold. Wood around walls would have been slatted shelving - slightly spaced apart for air circulation - to keep squashes and such on and wooden boxes you fill with sand to store you carrots and root vegetables over the winter. Apples would have been stored in there too. Everything built up off floor to help with rodent control.
Middle room you are likely correct - meat storage. Metal turning grate, ventilation control and to help with rodent control. Likely added later. To big of an area to ever smoke meats, store yes, but smokers are usually a meter or two square - have to heat constantly for days and fire would make you have away from other buildings as a precaution.
Other end room with big window openings could have been more animal quarters but I think a greenhouse with all that light.
No ice house would have been that close to animal quarters due to sanitation. Would have been closer to your lake, hard work to haul large blocks of ice. You send your servant out to chop off what you need as you need. Could have been large pit in ground lined with clay and straw and wooden top or more elaborate stone structure.
In first set of out buildings piggery - momma pig and piglets in one, daddy pig separate so he doesn’t eat babies. Possibly goats too. All small animal husbandry. Could have been living areas above ( heat rises from animals below, unfortunately so does the smell!) or gardening equipment storage or other storage. Might have gone through all those at various times.
End room with small arch into lower garden terrace and lovely large arch doorway. That’s a puzzle. Have you looked at exterior wall above lovely arched doorway? Wonder if there ever was something like a wench to lower things down and up? If that level garden level was an orchard, perhaps that small opening was added to push baskets of picked fruit through then hoist down from lovely arched door to food storage area instead of having to haul it around further. Maybe they had a grumpy lazy gardener that wanted that but owner wanted something aesthetically pleasing so an arched small opening added. Same with door and window openings along wall. Maybe owner wanted door, window, door, window, window and door or some configuration that owner liked no matter if it wasn’t really functional on other side.
Wonderful perspectives
That was such an interesting tour...it's like a whole new world around there....if the walls could talk! I sure look forward to seeing you work on that! Thank you so much for the tour!
I have loved the last two videos and read ALL of the comments. I’ve thought for a long time it would be great to invite a class of architectural history students and their lecturer to come and camp at the ppty for the week, go away to do some research then make a video with them touring/presenting their ideas/findings! It’s sooo exciting! There’s been some great ideas in the comments.
Part of that looks like something from a fortress..love your passion for the buildings. I feel it too
The storytelling is great.
Wow, the out buildings are more complicated than I would have expected!! And the buildings are all stone. A lot of thought & design went into them as Ash said! Hmmm 🤔, can't wait to hear about the tunnel.
I am not going to ask you to tear yourselves away from work, but these videos show your Chateau is much more complicated and extensive than many others I've seen. Fascinating! Thank you very much!
Beautiful, subscribed!
Couple of thoughts - Hunting dogs & falconry were big in those days - wonder if any of those structures were designed for them..
Thoroughly enjoyed poking around in this old building and rooms.
Thank you, we do have more discovery videos 🥰
Ash It Would Be Great To no The History Of The Out Buildings 💕
Hi guys also! Something to consider is the water table from the top of the land to the bottom. It’s possible the tunnel was just a way of removing water from higher land to lower with creating issues with the buildings. As if the chateau was moved higher and the land built up after then maybe , there would of been areas that could culminate water. So that was put in as, like a sink well to remove water away. Just a thought!
My guess about the opening in your paint-spraying room is that it was for hay delivery for whatever animals were kept in that stall. Some of those rooms could have been used to make or store wine.
Ash, the tunnel I believe is a drainage system that would go around the building and the sown pipes from the chateau would have all lead into there and perhaps the water would have drained away near the animal sheds or as a supply of water for the animals.
I would love to see more. Have you consulted with the archeology dept of a university, it could turn out to be a learning experience for both the students and yourselves.
💗thanks gents.👋🏻🇨🇦🐉👩🏼⚖️
Its so interest more please
Thanks Susan! 😊
I'm having a lovely walk about, imagining, pondering, questioning what processes were done in the past, enjoying birdsong, and a pleasant visit with people who feel like family... in France. 🥰🥰xx
Absolutely loved outbuilding exploring , I’m astounded re their solid condition including roof. Loved all those little details you pointed out. Very impressive tour Ash. Let us know , someone’s got to know.
It seems the building with the closed up windows and door were for storage of the crop behind the building. It would quick access from the field to storage.
Hay to feed the animals below.
The buildings are amazing, so much history. I hope you can save them and bring them back to life! Thank you so much for the tour and please show us more! I would love to live somewhere like that!
An idea for the tunnel. Fly your drone in it. Then you can see what the interior looks like.
I think it would be a great video.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a local historian who may be able to help you figure out what those buildings were used for!
the tunnel is a cold smoker, if you make a fire at the other end, and throw some damp wood over the fire, I am sure that within half an hour smoke will enter the bigger room, then just keep feeding the fire until your meat is smoked through. I'm 95% sure of that, and it's something you can just try out. I'm pretty sure I'm right.
I am mesmerized! I also LOVE exploring old buildings and figuring out what their purpose was! Thank you for these views of some of the structures on your property! There are many viewers who have studied old building techniques and they may well be able to provide some insight that can point you in the right direction👏🏻🥰
Hi Everyone it. Fantastic to see what got on your land for you work on in the summer time when the weather will be better may be Tony be back to give you all a hand . Have the window arrived yet and how is the room getting on can’t wait to see how that Apartment going to look when Terry finished . Well take care all. Xxx
I enjoy your exploration of the grounds and out buildings. It will be interesting to find out what everything was as you uncover the history of your lovely home.
yes a little cafe in the room with the big glass windows! Absolutely!
A series of workshops? Rendering lard, smoker, laundry, candle making, storage?
I love adventures. This episode was so exciting! Thank you for taking us along & sharing your adventures ♥️♥️
I believe the orangerie was actually a vacherie: cow shed and milking room. They generally had stone paved (later concreted) floors that could be washed of manure. The hanging hay feeders sort of give it away, although I don't know about the hooks in the ceiling. The muck on the floors Ash was scraping away would be fabulous compost.
I think the little stone lined tunnel is for water drainage of some sort - laundry, animal shed clean outs, run off. But it is strange that it leads to a deep crevasse between 2 buildings. You're absolutely right that is was not for heating. Those systems are quite specific, and built with ceramic "pipes".
I'm fascinated by all the various door and window styles of the long building with the slanted roof. You could date the progress just form those. And why are the 2nd & 3rd rooms plastered? I don't see a pigeonaire, as those always have roosting holes in the walls. When you eventually get around to digging the rubble off the floors of the deeper rooms, you may have more clues.
I absolutely love these tours, and all the guessing about what it could have been! You asked if we want more, so my vote is an emphatic YES. I'm looking forward to seeing the area where the old building on the map was after it's mowed. If you have dry weather for a few days after mowing, fly the drone above to see if you can spot any parch marks or signs of walls.
I actually thought the room with hooks was for laundry but what do I know, I’m a city gal!
@@rosebudame Me too! They aren't of a weight to carry big hams, nor is the room underground, where meat drying is usually done. After thinking about it, they are probably for tobacco drying, as others have suggested, although that probably pre-dated the cow shed.
Excellent video, I would like to see more 👩🏼👍🏼
Thanks Leah 😊
Perhaps as breaks from all of your hardwork, you could visit some chateau that have more intact out buildings. Or museums or recreated historical places where daily life is depicted. You might discover some of those features you are wondering about. Although not as old in the USA we have Plymouth plantation, sturdbridge village and Williamsburg.
I was just thinking that exact same thing! 😅
That is a good idea!
The prongs could have been used to weave branches to make shade and break any wind?
Thanks Cassandra 😊
Hi guys
I suspect that the tunnel behind the orangerie is a damp proofing cavity to try and stop the walls of the lower rooms from going mouldy.
With the rooms above the pig sty it is odd that the wall have been rendered so that their usage was of a more domestic nature than agricultural. Interesting!!
Please show more.
Ian
That one building with the manger running along one wall puts me in the mind of a milking barn.
I am a little surprised you haven’t responded to my question on Tony. He has been a very important part of the Chateau’s recovery, yet at the moment it is like he never existed.
Very interesting exploration around the château. Please keep them coming.
Yes lov to see the past parts of the Chateaux. We have nothing like that over on this side of the pond. We knock everything down in 10-20 yrs.
Thank you. Will do some more exploring soon 😊😊
Think the first buildings was for working and living. The workers houses were very small in the old days. Stable personal slept next to their cattle and hay, gardners slept nearby their garden, etc. Its not like this any more, but then it was how they lived. Hay went upstairs, and often lifted out of a window with door on the 1st floor (in case of heavy rain it will stay dry) One of my ancestors was a villlage sheppard in the 1800's and his house looks the same. yes it still stands. The orangerie is the part with the big windows, plants need light, the part next to it to hold working stuff for example. What a gem you have there, beautiful old stones and still standing. So many uses for those buildings, just wow. The small vent is for heating or release of heating!! Its cast iron or iron then its for heat. If it was an orangerie a heating system through terra cotta pipes went through it. Maybe you can see if you can find pieces of terra cotta in the small tunnels. If so, its heating with warm air.
They would have had a blacksmith area for shoeing horses and fixing wagons and carriages. They would have had dog kennels, wash house, summer kitchen, slaughter house. Hay storage, A threshing house where they stored the thresher and hemp bundles, they may have had a dye house and a drying house - like a kiln they can heat the underneath to have warm air rise to dry the crops, the hooks hold the rods that the plants/fibres are draped over. They might have had a leather curing area as well. The village would bring their goods to the Chateau to process them paying the chateau owner a % for use of the facility. some of the tunnels would be for sewage/drainage (ancient Greek/Scottish construction techniques). The structures for horses were really nice - like a really nice garage for your cars these days. There might even have been a building for processing cider from apples and other fruits. If you check the history of the area for what the farmers grew, what fabrics they used you will get a better idea of what buildings you had pre ww2. pre ww1. Some buildings were converted after ww1 and the others converted after ww2 when people could go to a store for most of their needs. Partridge was a staple at the dinner table at one time, they most likely had several types of fowl on the grounds. A fully staffed house pre ww1 had a lot of mouths to feed. The local Chateau was like a communal business where the locals worked for them or with them or made use of services/equipment in a barter. To imagine the place full of people all doing their assigned jobs from planting to harvest, taking care of the animals, milking cows, gathering eggs, storing harvest, processing food for winter, cooking, cleaning, laundry, baking bread, It would have been a very busy place. In some cases there were overnight attendants in the animal barns in a side room or upstairs from them - especially during birthing times and to prevent poachers.
A lot to think of and try and piece together. Think the archives might have some of the answers 😊😊
@@ashleywaters7198 The lifestyle of the common people who worked for Lords is very interesting and at times gives a better description of what things were and what they were used for than the stories told about the Lords themselves. Archives will have some of the answers, but looking to a few countries where people still live as they once did will answer a boat load of questions. There are few channels on RUclips where they have gone and filmed, some are dubbed and others you just have to watch and learn as the language is not translated and they don't talk a lot. One a woman showed the entire process of making a shirt from cutting down bullrushes to weaving the fibre to finally starching the collar and ironing the pleats without the use of a hot iron - fascinating! all the little and big jobs that tied into other jobs/harvest/grain/meat/carpentry/blacksmithing that led to the making of one shirt. It really took a village to make that shirt.
WOW! Ivy will take over the world if you let it. Thanks for the tour
Wow just wow Ash.... these vlogs give such a good look into what you guys are trying to achieve by showing the scope of the property, you and your family have such an amazing property and watching it being brought back to life is awesome!
Very exciting! You’ve been given some very good suggestions! Answers will come!
Hooks in the walls were for livestock bridles, halters etc. smokehouse, root cellars, servants quarters etc. tunnel is an icehouse
Hi Ash! I am from the States and am new to your show! I just watched a video on History and they had something of the same tunnel mystery! The Video was titled, “Knights Templar Lair Found in Pennsylvania.” I tried to share the video, but I am 72, & not real up on computer stuff! Hope you find this valuable!
Yes, I'd like to see more exploring. I am curious to see the other gates too.
I’m in love with Al of these beautiful buildings and the historic features. I’ve read here some of the suggestions and thoughts which make good sense, but a self sustaining chateau, these buildings all had practical uses including as someone suggested an ice building. The details are amazing. I’m so thrilled you did this video, not only for us but also to document this history before you begin work on everything. Simply brilliant. You are truly the right family to own this chateau. Love these videos! xx
Cool dark dry places that are ventilated, Storage.. root cellar for potatoes beets carrots and overwinter apple store maybe ropes of onions garlic etc drying culinary and household herbs, growing mushrooms, making beer, forcing rhubarb. the tunnel could be like a hypocaust type thing to move hot air to heat a greenhouse hothouse or pinery for more tender veg and fruit
Fascinating! Loved it!
Sometimes these old places had a slaughter room... not saying that may be it... but they did have them close to wear they kept the animals,
Doors to go to the chateau house after the meat was cleaned...
They would keep sheep and other various animals to eat for occasions
In the room's to fatn up...
I agree with the peacocks 🦚👌 room area they were well taken care of...the had nesting room's as well
I truly enjoyed watching this ☺
Tku for sharing these 😍 areas
My love to all...💐💝