The village called La Celle-Guenand is located southwest of Châtillon-sur-Indre, between Saint-Flovier and Le Grand-Pressigny. I skipped Saint-Flovier, by the way, in my photo-taking. La Celle-Guenand is not large — it has a population of 400. The village has existed since the 1200s, and maybe longer.
Coming into La Celle-Guenand from the north
The word Celle comes from the Latin cella and means a cell or house where a hermit-monk lived in the Middle Ages. The spelling is variable, and another example of a town with the term in its name is Selles-sur-Cher, just upriver from Saint-Aignan.
Guenand is a family name. I don't know how the people who live in La Celle-Guenand pronounce it. If you go by the spelling, it would be [guh-NÃ], with what is called a "mute E" and then the French nasalized A vowel. But some texts I've looked at spell the name of the inhabitants of the village as les Cellois-Guénandais, leading me to think that the word might be pronounced [gay-NÃ]. Does anybody reading this know how it's pronounced locally? [I think it's pronounced either way....]
There's a château in La Celle-Guenand that dates back to the 15th century. Part of it is used as bed-and-breakfast (chambres d'hôtes in French). If you want to spend a night or two in a château, this is one of your options. Prices run from 110 to 160 euros per night for a room for two persons, breakfast included. Here's the web site.
Above is a picture that I took on the grounds of the château in La Celle-Guenand in April 2006. At that time, we were exploring the southern part of Touraine for the first time, after moving to Saint-Aignan in 2003.
The next village along the road we took is called Le Petit-Pressigny — population about 325, down from nearly 1,100 in the mid-19th century. I misidentified it in my first version of this post, but Tim set me straight. Thanks to him.
The next village along the road we took is called Le Petit-Pressigny — population about 325, down from nearly 1,100 in the mid-19th century. I misidentified it in my first version of this post, but Tim set me straight. Thanks to him.
Above, a series of three photos taken as we drove into the village called Le Petit-Pressigny.
Ken the village is small and needs renovation. But the castle is lovely so it worth spending night there.
ReplyDeleteKen, I recognise the house on the corner as you drive in...
ReplyDeletebut the next three shots look like Le Petit Pressigny to me!?
The collapsing house, by the way, is the subject of much dispute, and has recently had some "arrettes" placed upon it by the local council.
The owner wants to demolish it and build a garage... but as it is of historic importance Batiment de France and the council have constantly said no....
we've watched this poor building decay over the last ten years....
looking worse after every winter...
I believe that the owner has been told to renovate or have the property taken into communal ownership.
And Gosia, you can spend a night or more there....
Stephen and his partner run it as a very successful chambre-d'hotes...
you can even get a ride in a white London taxi should you want!?
Oh, thanks, Tim, you are right of course. I got my photos mixed up. I just went back and looked at the timestamps and realized my error. Duh...
DeleteI've often heard it pronounced as if there was an acute accent on the e, with the emphasis on the first syllable. The front of the church is romanesque, heavily carved and collapsing. P.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pauline, I'm not really surprised. Yes, I have photos of the front of the church from 2006 and just looked at them again.
DeleteGuenand gets pronounced both ways by the locals, but probably more commonly as if it has an accent on the e.
ReplyDeleteKen, that reminds me of the Massachusetts town of Amherst (where Amherst College is, and where the U-MASS Amherst is, and where Emily Dickinson lived and died). Locals all around do NOT pronoune the h, and it drives you batty to hear the newcomers and tourists say, "amHerst".
DeleteIn any case, I LOVE the rooms at the Château de la-Celle-Guénand. I put a link to it on my school webpage for our Loire Valley project. I see that there is another website also for this place (same place, though??), and the é is clearly evident.
I have heard Guenand pronounced both ways, but more commonly as "uh-non" I think. That's how it seems to me anyway, but getting my ears "tuned" to French sounds takes a while each visit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the explanation of its name. We were very privileged to be given a tour of the château a few years ago, by the previous owner, just before he sold it. He was especially keen to show us the underground caves and passages, which were very scary. I have heard that it's a lovely place to stay now.
Hi, Ken. Prior to this post, I'd been curious why a town would ever have been named "Saddles on the Cher". Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWorse interpretations of the word are possible, Dean. “Aller à la selle” veut dire “aller aux toilettes”, et “les selles” sont les excréments. Do I need to continue?
DeleteSelles-sur-Cher, ville jumelée avec Craponne-sur-Arzon?
ReplyDelete