Posted on 12/27/2020 at 8:14 p.m.
Architecture. The Boos loft, owned by the Department, will undergo a serious facelift. Built between 1517 and 1531, the building is exceptional.
The dovecote was built between 1517 and 1531. (Photo Paris-Normandie)
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The dovecote was built between 1517 and 1531. (Photo Paris-Normandie)
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This dovecote can tell the whole story of the regional abbeys. (Photo PN)
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The peculiarity of the dovecote is its octagonal architecture surmounted by a circular roof. (Photo PN)
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Discreetly nestled between the church and a farm, the Boos dovecote is an exceptional 16th century heritage testimony.
The Department of Seine-Maritime, to preserve this jewel from the ravages of time, has just launched a call for tenders to redo the roof. The site seems like that banal, but it is about putting new tiles on a form of pepperbox, an operation already carried out in 1923 and 2005.
“It is a bit dated and needs work, testifies the mayor of Boos, Bruno Grisel. It had been a while since it had been renovated. You can visit it during Heritage Days or on request. “
Up to 1,166 pigeons
The interest of this dovecote is threefold. On the one hand, its architecture, with an octagonal plan but a circular crown, is original. On the other hand, ceramics attributed to Masséot Abaquesne are visible: they are polychrome figures and floral motifs. Masséot Abaquesne was one of the most famous pottery makers in Rouen at the time, when Norman creations dominated the European market.
Finally, this dovecote can tell the whole story of the regional abbeys. From the 11th century, the Pope authorized the abbesses of Saint-Amand to build a house in Boos, in addition to their abbey. By feudal law, the abbess Guillemette d’Assy erected a dovecote between 1517 and 1531. Originally, its door was adorned with “silver arms with a sandy cross loaded with five gold shells, confined with twelve sand martlets ”.
At the time, dovecotes were in great demand: that of Boos, with its 1,166 boulins (nesting boxes for birds), was to produce enormous quantities of young birds, which the abbesses were very fond of.
If the building has survived the centuries, it is now experiencing a certain delay in its renovations. In 2010, a project to repair the exterior masonry and sanitation of the lower parts, as well as making the site accessible, were abandoned because they were deemed not to be a priority. Since then, the building has lived on, poorly identified and unknown. This recent call for tenders from the Department, coupled with a scientific diagnosis, shows that it could soon emerge from oblivion.
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