Vanishing Beauty in the Woods...

Just over a hundred years ago, this long alleyway led to the grand Château de Toussicourt, set behind a majestic central pond and looking down over the sweeping landscape that is now indistinct agricultural land. I had learnt of Toussicourt a number of years ago, when looking into the history of the area of Hermonville and its unwitting involvement in the Great World - 1914-1918.

Finding itself at the heart of hostilities from the very beginning of the war, the region around Hermonville and further beyond was the focus of many brutal - yet ultimately futile military missions - with lives, land and livelihood literally obliterated. The village itself was employed as army training base in espionnage and the numerous châteaux (of which there were initially seven), served as encampment grounds.

These impressive domains were cruelly damaged during the war years and some were left in ruins - as was the case for Toussicourt. Having belonged to the Krafft family in the final chapter of its life, the château was abandonned to the wilderness as Hugues Krafft dedicated himself to the preservation of the architectural heritage of Reims with the foundation of the Société des Amis du Vieux Reims (SAVR) and the purchase of the Hôtel Le Vergeur.

I managed to track down Toussicourt a few years ago, in winter months, just weeks before global lockdown made such walks in the countryside seem illusory... The visit of the final remains of this once-grand residence was dreamlike in itself and now in the summer months, years on, there was a similar feeling of halted or suspended reality, as if you could somehow conjure up the past if only you find the correct opening.

The stark branches, stripped foliage and visible stonework of the winter have now been clothed in shrouds of vivid green with darts of sunlight breaking through the leafy canopies above whilst dense undergrowth carpet and conceal paths underfoot...

Moss and ivy are draped everywhere, as is lichen, whilst Nature takes its claim on these traces of human history...

No indentifiable structural vestiges remain of the château itself, apart from the odd turret-shaped form that originally stood near the pond, and is now sumberged by the trees and saplings that stand where once the main building rose up. The stonework of this final construction is gradually being carved up by inclement weather that drives in cracks and crevaces where the war hostilities had failed...

Although hidden from view in summer months, the pond still offers a peaceful glimpse of what once was; past elegance and tranquility. I couldn't help but reflect on that loss in the present too as we have entered unchartered territory in almost every aspect of life since my last visit.

As I left, feeling a little wistful, I caught a glimpse of this strangely faded Peacock butterfly; vanishing beauty indeed!