To be honest, I don't suppose these stables are medieval, strictly speaking, but they are certainly in the medieval section of this privately owned chateau in the Brenne, and they are certainly not modern (maybe Renaissance).
The stable corridor, with stalls on the right.
I thought it was odd that the corridor and all the doorways were so narrow. The stables are currently empty, but have clearly been used in living memory. I quizzed the owner about how they managed to get horses in and out, but I didn't understand her explanation and the conversation moved on so I never returned to the subject. Curiously the stalls themselves are very generously proportioned.
A chute in the ceiling, used to drop hay down to the stable from the loft above.
*******************************************************
A la cuisine hier: Spaghetti with creamy tomato sauce followed by stewed greengages from the freezer.
Italian Sausage and Cabbage Stew, which is certainly cabbagey and makes enough to serve 12, so we've got plenty for the freezer. I used herb chipolatas and home cooked lima beans, as well as adding carrot and chorizo.
The last of the Persian Love Cake left over from Cake Club.
11 comments:
The stables at La Chatellier, Paulmy are the same pattern as these...
They are built into the walls.
What do you mean by lima and where do you get them? I love them but I've never found them in France.
Are the cracks in the ceiling due to badgers' industry below?
Having consulted Wikipedia on the subject, what I used might be what you would call butter beans. They were large flat white dried beans sold as haricots géants in Auchan, in Auchan's own brand packaging.
No, I doubt it. The badgers are busy on the other side of the building and a bit further down.
That's interesting. Any idea how they convinced horses to go through the narrow doors and down a narrow corridor?
They went straight forward... out of the doorway opposite the stable door... the room at the end was most likely a tack room, or the ostler's room...or both.
At la Chatellier there is a raised area outside the stables and ramps from that to the outer opening.
They were giving tours of them at the "Medievals".... but it seemed very popular!! [ie. Crowded!!]
Outside this one there is a crumbling courtyard with wide high entrances either side. I still don't understand how they convinced horses to enter the stables from the courtyard, and even if the horse was willing, how they got them through these narrow doorways if the horse was any size.
They may only have been for fine-boned riding hacks that needed shelter....rather than Percheron-type horses??
You would still struggle to convince your average horse to go through those doorways in my opinion. Even a riding hack would be in danger of brushing its flanks on the door frame.
Oh, of course, I was thinking of what Americans call "baby limas" — those are the ones I can't find, or only ever found once in a supermarket in Vouvray. The haricots géants are also called pois du Cap or Soissons, and I do find those from time to time. My mother used to cook the big white limas when I was growing up and I like them.
Post a Comment