Granite architecture
of the Cevennes
national park : Bougès, Mont Lozère,
Margeride and Aubrac
granite |
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Summary
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INTRODUCTION
The granitic regions are allied with the Causses and Cévennes by a long history and
culture in common.
Within living memory it has been the summerdestination of all the southern flocks, the
so-called 'Transhumance': the traditional sheep-removal of the Languedoc.
The Mont Lozère and a part of the Bougès are
two granitic chains of mountain parallel in east - west direction, separated by the Tarn
in the south of the Massif Central.
Average height between 1000 et 1400 meters
culminates with seventeen hunderd meters (1699 m. if you like precise figures).
The architecture here is of a rough beauty and
a perfect harmony with nature; colours , landscape and materials were never more
integrated into each other. 
Isolated farms, hamlets and villages are
constructed on a rupture of the rock, situated if possible nearby pastures, earth to
cultivate and a source.
Often the water of the spring at distance is
conducted by hewd or built and paved canalization.
Because of the severe winters when the snow
might stay for several months the buildings are also interior in communication with each
other, this in contrast with the lime- and slatestone architecture of the Cévennes.
Two other architectural phenomenons are due to
the rough climat and very typical of the Mont Lozère hamlets:
° the "four banal",a very big bread-oven with benches inside for meetings
during periods of bad weather.
° the "clocher de tourmente" a bell-tower to ring in case of snowstorm so
people won't be lost by sudden invisibility or to toll or chime at other occasions. 
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 THE
HOUSE
The granite house is
relatively low because of the heavy material which is hard to handle.
The rooms are voluminous and compact with less openings and a more extensive groundplan
than lime- or slatestone houses.
at the ground level there is
the dwelling-house and stable with the drinking-troughs inside
the first floor contains the hay- and
strawloft and later in history sleepingrooms above the kitchen.
sometimes, depending of the slope of the
rock, beneath there are cellars.
THE
LIVING
In the kitchen, the 'living' is a large
arch overstraining the whole breadth carying the monumental chimney, were-in also the
opening of the bread-oven and the dresse.
The opposite gable separating itself from the stable or workshop.
Beneath the pavement made out of big flat granite stones "les barres" there is
drainage installed for the thrickling water of the rock.
The kitchen and stable next to each other in
prolongation ("en barre") or in angle, depending of the slope, are separated by
a wall or a wooden partition for the poor ones - agricultures without land.
In winter, the cattle stays 6 months
inside in case of persisting snow and can be fed by the trapdoor to the hayloft.
THE BEDROOM
Longtime people slept in the kitchen at the
ground or in cupboard-beds.
The later bedroom is separated of the kitchen by a wooden floor; the closed stairs are
illuminated by a very little window just beneath the eaves in the
head-façade.
THE RYE-STRAW ROOF
The traditional thatch of this region is made
out of straw of rye. Little by little it has been replaced by slate but still some
roofs have the big stones at the façade-walls which fixed the rye-straw, like le Mazel,
l’Hôpital, la Vialasse and Bellecoste.
The culture of rye has been stopped but it's traces in achitecture are still visible:
the hayloft has always a door at the high side of the mountain open directly on to the
threshing-floor and at the main façade there is always a second opening to create draught
for threshing inside in winter.
The agricultural economy in regression
consists of bovine cattle-breeding during the whole year and ovines in summer.
A lot of land is only used in summer, a tradition already known in the twelfth century as
it was the higher part of the abbey's domains.
GRANITE
 Stones
are usually taken on the spot; granite is not dugged in strata like lime- and
slatestone but in massives stones of very variably size of the so-called
chaos. Some are include in buildings like that, others are split or even worked up
more.
The stone-cutter knock on the round granite stone all over in order to hear it's
weak points; at the wanted spindle he alternately drives his chindles deeper by ear.
When the boulder is ready to split he suddenly change of sound and cuts perfectly in two.
Foundation stones, junction- and corner-stones
are usually of very big size the other stones used are of very different size.
 THE WALLS
The colossal walls between 80 cm
and 1 m.30 are constructed "a fruit": broader below as above with a decrease at
each floor.
The walls of rich farms such as MAS CAMARGUE,
RUNES and L’HÔPITAL.are joined all over the wall by big cutted
transverse stones.
But more often the walls are made out of two
loose walls with only here and there junction-stones filled up with ‘tout
venant’: all kind of uncutted stones.
The junction in the oldest walls is made by
cutted irregular but perfectly fitting stones:‘opus incertum’.
THE OPENINGS
A granite house has got very few and very
little openings, which gives the idea of protection.
A door, a window and a very little window in the living room, and some very little windows
in the huge stable.
The openings are grouped in the main façade,
usually eastwards.
Because the most of the houses are integrated
in the rock itself at the northside, with their gable wall to the south, there is a
door open into the ground level at each floor.
The lintels are made out of one cutted stone,
or arches out of two, tree or five tapering stones, very beautiful.
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EXTENSION
The extension of the farm is realised at one
or both sides of the existing building in the same direction or perpendicular at this one;
this depends of the natural inclination of the slope.
At the stable-side serves as an annex for
animals, tools or engins. At the kitchen-side there can be incorporated the oven if it's
not built already at the same time.
The prosperous farm of
‘L’-form can be closing a courtyard with a gateway by adding new buildings.
Examples of this fortified farm are " la ferme de l’Aubaret" and
"Issenges".
THE ARCHITECTURE BETWEEN BUILDINGS AND GRANITIC CHAOS
 If you look around the farm and some
further in the landscape you can distinguish a lot of architectural elements.
Although a lot of constructions are purely made for practical reasons to this autartical
life, the methods, material and functionality makes it all without exception
aesthetical juwels.
the threshing-floor ,walled in and
carefully paved
the canalizations and reservoirs for
conducting and storing water
the mills at hydraulic force
the roofs and pavements of oven and fountain
the traditional fences of serried
granitic boulders or cutted pickets of stone
the walls of stone with enormous
blocks integrated to hold the ground for cultivating
a lot of old beatiful granite crosses
in villages and along (pilgrims-)paths
little houses to shelter and stock
tools scattered over the landscape
"les ferradou", construction for
the farriery
the monolith drinking-throughs and
wash-bowls
the old paths with walls besides at some
places cut in stone at other places with paving
"les drailles", paths used for the
sheep migration in spring and at the end of the summer
the bridges which often had to be rebuilt
after every heavy rainfall, so the oldest ones are not older than the 19th
century
the familial cemeteries close to the houses
remembering the protestant history, marked by a granite stone
the Ways of the Cross and the pickets with a
Maltese cross
VARIATIONS OF THE GRANITIC ARCHITECTURE
In the contact-zones of granite with other
kind of bedrocks one can observe variations of architecture:
Granite/limestone : Cham des Bondons
and La Fage 
particular architecture with a combination of the two models and materials
Granite/schist : massif du Bougès
Granite/limestone/schist : valley of
the Lot
Demands, period, material, fashion,
prosperity, required pace and the personnal tinge of those who've realised the work gives
every construction her own personnality.
TO VISIT
The "Ecomusée du Mont Lozère"
offers you a very good occasion to visit the granitic patrimony; walks, interesting
sites and musea.
Offer yourself the charm of this beautiful
architecture in it's landscape, there were it has been created.
- LE MAS CAMARGUE
- LA MAISON DE TROUBAT
- L’HOPITAL
- LA GARDE GUERIN
The fortified village
La Garde Guérin above the gorges du Chassezac represents a particular example of well
conserved mediaeval architecture. This place as well as it's surrounding are a visit
worth.
Le chemin de la Régordane ( the GR72) was made in the XII th century for economic
exchanges between the Auvergne and the Velay in the north and the Languedoc and the
Mediterranean.
This castle like several others (Montfort, Portes) and a lot off fortified villages
were asking toll to pass the "Régordane",very useful at that moment to be
protected for the numerous highwaymen.
MONTGROS, GRIZAC (château de Grimoard), LE
PONT DE MONTVERT, LES BADIEUX, LA BOULADE, ROUSSES, BELLECOSTE, LES URFRUITS etc.
© 1998 -2008 causses-cevennes.com - lozere.net
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