Condat-sur-Vézère, Dordogne
Condat-sur-Vézère is a small village of approximately 900 inhabitants. As the name suggests, it is located on the bank of the Vézère river, with its tributary river, the Coly, joining it in the middle of the village. The village was home to a Commanderie of the Knights Hospitaller of St John of Jerusalem.
Of interest are the recently restored church, the nearby old flour mill and Le Manoir de Muses, a Type B Perigorgian dwelling, as categorised in Le Périgord des Maisons Forte by Jean-Marie Belingard (1999), ISBN 2-912 347-03.3 dating to 1550.
There is ample parking in front of the church and beside the war memorial, with other car parks just off the D704.
Condat Church
The church was examined before the re-plastering as part of the restoration works in 2015/6 and no graffiti or other marks were found. On the left side of the building (when facing from the front), is a simple cross and some graffiti. The church has a simple but beautiful interior and the surviving remnants of old wall murals are of interest. There is no indication in the church of their date. The church is usually open.
[Not a valid template]Old Flour Mill
On the right side of the main doorway of the old flour mill is a finely-drawn daisy wheel (with one incomplete petal) overlain with some red-painted marks.
Le Manoir des Muses
Le Manoir des Muses has a daisy wheel (complete) on the right side of the original main entrance. To find the house, take the D704 south from Le Lardin to Condat and take the first turning on the left after the bridge over the Vézère into rue de Broudaysse, and then turn left into the small impasse des Escures. The daisy wheel is on the right of the main doorway. The house is in private ownership but the mark can be viewed from the public highway. An examination of the interior has revealed no marks, although there is a partial carving of leaves on the left side of one of the fireplace lintels. There are car parks in Condat and the house is a short distance away from the car park by the Mairie.
Condat Village
A house in the village has a date of 1930 roughly carved into the stone on a corner of the building. To find this, walk from the church past the public toilets on a road that leads to a path beside the river.
Report by Linda Wilson