Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Walled Farm Estate at Normandy

Fortified Farmstead

As we toured Normandy we went up and down the back roads behind the beaches. Since I live on my family’s old homestead in Wisconsin I have always had an interest in old European farms. What makes many unique is being built on a square. The farmstead is comprised of four walls with the barnyard in the center. Within the walls is the family residence as well as cover for the stock, equipment and stores. There were many of these old farms in Europe that have variations on this design. The chief reason was for security and throughout history farmers, not just those close to the coast, had reason to worry about sea raiders and brigands, who frequently passed through to loot and terrorize. With security in mind residents could buy time until the local Noble arrived with reinforcements.

The picture of the left shows the entrance and the one on the right is inside the winery served by the owner's lovely wife.

So, as we were traveling down this farm road we passed one of these fortified farms with a sign, “Visitors Welcome.” It turned out to be a winery that catered to tourists or anyone else passing by. We drove through the arch and the owner came out to greet us. He took us into the tasting room and told us some of the history of the farm. The site had been occupied for over a thousand years and different families had adapted the architecture to their needs. He was proud to show early drawings made in antiquity.

In WW2 the Germans forced the family out and used the grounds to quarter their troops. A memorial is next to the garden, left by an engineer battalion who took up residence there after running off the “Bosch.”