Château in Provence, La Beaumetane is a place steeped in history.
We are regularly reminded of this. Here is one of its anecdotes.
La Beaumetane: a château in Provence built by Edmond Théry
As we explained in this article, La Beaumetane is a château in Provence built by Edmond Théry at the end of the 19th century. This extraordinary man of course lived there. But some of his descendants also lived there.
In love with my beautiful Château in Provence and eager to discover its history, you can imagine that I often look for information about our magnificent property. Unfortunately, despite all my research, I was always left wanting more. I did find some information, thanks to the account books and papers that had remained at the château. Moreover, there was this book dedicated by Marcel Pagnol himself to one of the Théry sons to thank him for having hosted him for many months. Finally, there were some archives, in particular those that talked about the German occupation of this beautiful estate in Provence during the Second World War.
Finally, I had all the stories from all those people who regularly stop by the château to tell me about having lived there or that their grandparents lived and worked there, and who tell me what life was like there many decades ago. I’m always moved and humbled by these stories. Indeed, I know that as the owner of this little Château in Provence, I also have a duty, which of course I accept wholeheartedly, to preserve all these moments and continue to make La Beaumetane shine.
La Beaumetane and the Thérys in the 21st century
So you can imagine my delight when two years ago, for the first time, Edmond Théry’s grandson stopped by for a surprise visit to the château. We spent a long time talking about what life was like at the Château when he was a child. I could feel and see the emotion in his eyes as we entered each room. It was clearly a moment of intense happiness for him, but also for me, one that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
A few days ago Mike had the good fortune to receive this gentleman’s sister. His brother told him all about us and she also came to see how we had renovated La Beaumetane. Above all, the major changes we had made to the stables, which we had transformed into accommodation, with 20 rooms. So that we can now accommodate 45 people at the Château.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t available to meet her that day. But I’m sure she’ll be back and we’ll meet up. In the meantime, I have her lovely emails and some photos she sent us after her visit. For all this I am so grateful!
Being the owner of a château in Provence is, of course, a great joy and an enormous amount of work. Sorry if I’m spoiling the dream a bit! But it also means having the responsibility of keeping a unique heritage alive and shining. And that suits me just fine! I’m delighted! And I find that La Beaumetane never shines as brightly as when it opens its doors to welcome you.
