Les Pavillons

The “getaway” spot has been a part of our culture for a long time. But what are we getting away from? Today, it is generally the city, and many people have some version of a place they escape to on weekends whether it is a true second home or a tent site in a national or state park.

In the eighteenth century Les Pavillons were where courtiers would go to escape the crowds at the Versailles. The Pavillon de Hanover at left is one such example. These exquisite buildings could be found in the city or the country. They were of varying size, though generally much smaller than we would associate with the wealth of that period.

Pavilions fit between two Regency getaways: follies, usually seen on great estates, though pavillons were bigger and more complete domestically and the "rustic" hunting Bos ,though the French pavillons was more convenient geographically. Though pavillons were meant as an escape they were only an escape from the crowds and not from the comfort and elegance of the period. The interior salon at left give us a sample of the lifestyle, so differnt from Versailles where much of the time was spent standing (and looking for a bathroom)

In my WIP I wanted a small townhouse for the use of my hero’s mistress and found one Pavillon that suited my needs and taste perfectly. To move it to England I had my hero’s father, who had spent a great deal of time in France, hire the son of the orginal architect to build a version of it in London. Then the duke gave it to his "too serious" oldest son. My architectural resource is LES PAVILLONS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY by Jerome Zerbe and Cyril Connolly.

The pavillon I chose is the Pavillon Colombe located outside Paris. (see below) It was built in 1769, for three sisters of Venetian background, all actresses who abandoned the stage for marriage or lovers but retreated to the pavilion when the need arose. The original owner was the lover of Mary Catherine Colombe's (seen here in a painting by Fragonard). Whe he married, he allowed her the use of the retreat for the rest of her life. She lived to be eighty.

After the Great War, Edith Wharton purchased Le Pavillon Colombe and erstored it. It was her favorite residence after The Mount, her home in Lenox, Massachusetts. In 1979when this book was published the owners were the Duke and Duchess de Talleyrand who attempted to restore the interior to its original configuration.

I cannot find any information on its current status but it will be lovingly described in my next Pennistan book STRANGERS KISS

Architecture always distracts me, especially residential architexture. I have a book on tree houses but have not been able to fit that in a regency story yet. What bits of history do you want to share with your readers? And readers, what do you always want to know more about?