Le Dorat is famous for the 12th century Collégiale Saint-Pierre that dominates the skyline

An old photo of the Collégiale - before the war memorial was built and the dormer windows on the clock tower and pitched roofing beneath were removed

Below - aerial photo looking at the rear of the Collégiale (you can see our house - centre right)

The 15th century Porte Bergère (Shepherd's Gate).  This has since been restored and had a portcullis put back in place

Above - the railway station - mostly unchanged in appearance and still used with regular services to Limoges and Poitiers

Below - carriages waiting outside the front of the station

The old hospital (above) is still standing, but just used for admin now as a brand-new one has just been completed next door

The stabling either side of the house of the "Ecole de Dressage" has since been converted to garages and housing, but the main house in the middle is still the same

Between the Hospital and the Ecole de Dressage is what is now called 'Le Jardin Anglais'. So named as the style of the layout and planting was apparently typically English

The splendid building above is now Le Dorat's 'Mairie' or Town Hall

 Back in the centre of town . . .

A couple of pictures of what was called 'Place de la Fontaine' but is now known as 'Place Charles de Gaulle'  (I think every town in France has a Place/Avenue/Rue/Airport or whatever named after him)

Below is the fountain which has a fascinating and tragic story attached to it that you will find on our 'Limousin' page on the Maison Robert website

some other views of Le Dorat

The Ostensions

In the Collégiale here at Le Dorat, the remains of the two local saints, St. Israël and St. Théobald, are kept in the nave in gilded boxes. Every 7 years since 1659 the boxes have been brought out and paraded with great ceremony around the town. We missed the 2002 Ostensions, but had a grandstand view of the 2009 processions.

                                                     The above picture shows part of our house on the right - the front door and a window can just be seen  (The ornate railings along the front are all sadly long gone)

Above (left) - crowds gather outside the Collégiale in 1911 and (right) - the two boxes of relics being paraded around the town in the 1925 Ostensions

and finally . . .

The picture below on the left was taken probably sometime in the 1930's.  Our house is the older, smaller part of the building to the right and the other, larger part, was the 'extension' built by Pierre Robert in the 1890s.  My photograph on the right is how we look today.

I hope you enjoyed this look at Le Dorat as it used to be and that maybe you will come and see it as it is now - part of its charm is that it really hasn't changed very much.

Thank you for looking.

P.G.H.  -  Maison Robert, Le Dorat

www.lamaisonrobert.com

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