Park and gardens
                 
            Engravings of François de la Pointe dating from the end of the XVIIe century, give us a precise image of the gardens called "à la Française" which embellished the field at that time.
                 
            Sandy paths surround four floors with embroideries which are not without us to recall those of clothing of the women at the beginning of the XVIIe century. In these drawn marvelously floors, live in their boxwood arabesques: eyelets, jasmines, tulips, hyacinthes, lily, myrtles and pinks. On both sides, of the turfed patches of land carpeies of greenery form. A vertugadin (amphitheatre of grass) finishes the prospect. In the medium, a water round in the center of which, a putto or cherub overlaps a fish which spits water by the mouth.
                 
            Statues, vases and benches complete the perfect grace of the unit. In the south, seedbeds of trees face the wood of mature standing timber. By use in the gardens "à la Française", the pleasure garden is separated from the utility garden. This last was at the current site of the "avenue du Maréchal Joffre". The kitchen garden thus provided vegetables and fruits to the castle. The famous agronomist of the castle of Versailles, Jean de la Quintinie (1626-1688) in visit in Mesnil, at the time of a marriage of one of his gardeners in our church, undoubtedly did not spare his councils of good taste for the layout and the prospects for the park. Fruit trees enjolivaient all the enclosing walls.
                 
            Extract of a article published about the restoration of the garden "à la Française", and published in the review "La Vie à la campagne" in May 1929.

"A principal axis starts from a point paramount and led towards worms a decorative point clearly in sight. Then the secondary axis, perpendicular to the main thing, conduit at two interesting places entirely apart from the central point of view. The intersection of the two axes is marked by a circular basin. The immediate surroundings of the castle were looked after, very decorated, with the details of a research meticulous person. It is here the case for the meticulous ones and precise embroideries of boxwood, opposed to the calm aspect of the large carpet of grass of the bottom. The details were drawn with the traditional sources, like this long hedge, bored by places of niches whose white marble statues come to raise the richness of the garden. In front of the castle, on the basis of a small terrace, a bridge was arranged on the ditches to give access to dwelling the garden. A vast quay level facilitates the evolution of the cars. Beyond that, they are the floors. The first part, very decorated in boxwood embroidery, is divided into two compartments by a broad median alley leading to the central basin. Each compartment presents a series of volutes, the rinceaux one, rollings up, where, by places, some flowers come to add their clearer note to the a little dark green of the boxwood. The second part of the floor is made up of a large green carpet, separated from a plat band turfed by a against-path; on both sides of this carpet, some beautiful specimens of cut shrubs underline the character Net and geometrical style. A semicircular room finishes it, and its openings on the interior are narrow, the landscape not being of shown interest. On each side of the central basin, alleys perpendicular to the large axis, serve two rooms of greenery: that of right-hand side is square; the central basin marries the form, but, to attenuate the a little austere rigidity of these lines, the angles were cut and decorated of a cut shrub; that of left is octagonal as well as the basin. One and the other is surrounded by hedges where sites of decorations were arranged. The large ones and beautiful trees ombragent the whole and give to this traditional garden a romantic environment which sied extremely well with our taste of today ".

                 
            The Vases
                 
            The vases at the entry of the large-hall, are copies of the vases of "le Grand-Perron", in front of the frontage of the central body of the castle of Versailles. Ordered in 1684, they owe their names with the shows of the War and Peace built at the ends of "La Grande Galerie" whose ceilings painted by Charles Le Brun one inspired the decoration of the vases.
                 
            War vase carved by Antoine Coysevox - 1684

Foot of the vase is decorated with sheets of acanthus and its two handles are made of a head of fauna. Its faces are decorated of a low-relief which magnifie two events suitable to accredit the preeminence of France on the Austrian empire and Spain. The first face reports the victory of Louis XIV in 1664 with the battle of Saint-Gothard, whereas it sent only one weak military quota to support Austria against the Turks. France there is represented under the features of a capped female figure of the French cockerel with the Austrian eagle on its shield and is accompanied by Hercules who symbolizes the heroic Virtue. The second face points out the quarrel of precedences of 1662, where the king of Spain had had to accept that its ambassadors yield the step to those of Louis XIV. Framed by the heroic Virtue and Justice, France is represented here under the features of the warlike goddess Athéna who receives the tender of Spain and the Lion castillan.
                 
            Peace vase carved by Jean-Baptiste Tuby - 1684

This vase illustrates the treaties of Aachen in 1668 and Nimègue into 1679 which put an end to the first two wars of the kingdom. Represented as a Roman emperor, Louis XIV sat under a platform with Hercules at his sides, where as the Victoire suspends trophies with a palm tree. The king receives the homage of the Peace represented by a procession of women who carry the attributes from there: cornucopia, olive branch, pilum and caduceus.
                 
                 
            © Olivier FAUVEAU - 2001