COUSNICOURT
The Thėrain river flows south east from Beauvais, carving its way between rolling wooded hills, plateaux of grain-growing areas and low flat land where reservoirs and fishing lakes abound. The forests are where the de Croisettes earned their keep, in little hamlets tucked away in valleys where there is shade for summer, shelter from the wind in winter, and water sources. Some of these villages are in dips in the higher flatter farming areas. Cousnicourt is just such a one.
By the time Jean de Croisettes (the Ist) took over his father Colard's estates in the area sometime before 1454, Cousnicourt had joined their clutch of fiefs. It no longer featured by 1534. Others had also gone by the wayside, perhaps swapped, or sold, or seized.
If you head out of Beauvais south-south-east on the N1 towards Chambly and Paris, then turn off at Noailles onto the D44, you will come to Cousincourt in about 7 kilometres, lurking in a dip, just a couple of kilometres before Ully St George. It has a notable church, apparently, but for reasons that will become clear, we somehow forgot to backtrack and look at it. This photograph on the web shows its unusual facade. Parts of it are Norman, from the 12th century.
The back view.
The pigeon house.
Old photographs and a plan.
There's a website that tells, in French, some of its ancient history, and about the 'Germanii' origins of its people, the same people who settled in Swabia after moving south from Saxony and ultimately from Scandinavia. They were excellent farmers, often blue-eyed, and Protestant too.
It is often a good idea to look at a village from the outside to gauge what might be its most significant buildings. We drove through and parked to look. Tucked away among trees was a long, ancient, roof line. Intrigued, we turned off the main road into the heart of the village, keeping an eye on the long roof line. Norman arches, pillars, ancient stone buildings, long red roof.
Did the de Croisettes live here? My guess is that their house might well have been attached to this complex of buildings or near the church, so the village is worth another visit. We will discover. Anyone who knows of other old buildings in the village, do get in touch: pelham.earlhamATyahoo.co.uk, just replace the AT with @.