Last Sunday, the Network in charge of Patrimony of the
Community of Communes Sor & Agout organized an interesting visit of the
small village of Escoussens, few kilometres from here on the foothill of the Montagne Noire.
The place has been occupied since millenaries and the
local toponymy contains several Celtic terms: Mountain and forest of Cayroulet
(Small Dolmen), le Breil (small group of trees), Vernazobre (creek
of alder forest). Later, Romans and Gallo romans exploited the sites of a
marble and iron quarries deep in the nearby forest.
Source: Mission d’inventaire du patrimoine bâti - CAUE du Tarn
The
name of Escoussens appears officially in 1185 when Roger II Trancavel, Viscount
of Carcassonne, allowed a castle to be built, probably replacing a former
castrum. According to oral tradition, the village was destroyed and the castle
burnt, like several other around, during the Albigensian crusade
(Cathars).
After
legal and financial problems between the local lords and the bankers of the
city of Castres, the village, its rich forest and factories (watermills,
sawmills, glass and charcoal) ended in the hands of the Carthusian Order, already settled in
Castres. They kept this entire heritage from the 14th century to the French Revolution (end 18th).
Even if it has been modified the church mainly from 16th century, in gothique flamboyant style is a testimony
of the history of the place. The altar is in red marble from the Caunes quarry (same has
been used for the Trianon colonnade in the Versailles Castle). Several old and
intriguing corbels can be found in the lateral chapels.
This visit was the occasion to enjoy many nice small
remains from the past like doors made of stone or wood dated end 15th,
crosses and fountains dated around 1860.
