Marville France

The Chateau Room

The "Chateau Room" is not just a simulated 17th Century French Pub - it is a reproduction of a medieval inn room and has many distinct originals within its ancient walls.

The Chateau Room dates from the germination of an idea for an original decor for the Officers' Mess at No. 1 Fighter Wing, RCAF, Marville, France. After much consideration, the reproduction of a medieval inn was attempted, as a tribute to the enthusiasm and fraternal instincts of the air community.

Scouts were dispatched around the local area of Marville, searching for ideas and possible materials, and an old chateau in nearby Montmedy was discovered. Built in 1601 by Jeon III d'Allamont, Governor of Montmedy from 1595 to 1617, it was called the house of the King's Lieutenant. The wood is, however, much older than 1601 from the size of the beams. Through the centuries, the castle had alternatively been a peaceful home and a fortress. In 1767, it was occupied by the Commanding Officer of the Montmedy Fortress. During the revolution, it was occupied by the Army Engineers, who remained until the 19th century, when it became empty and suffered from the World Wars. The main door is still erected in a farm yard (ferme Hughes) between Juvigny and Louppy-sur-Loison. The Coat of Arms on the other door in the room are those of the Count of Ching, original landlord of the area between 1226-1364.

The House was located in the Montmedy-Haut near what was called Government House. The building had been maintained for several years by the National Trust (Beaux Arts) but had been found to have become more of a liability to the Trust than its value as a historical ruin warrantad and the ruins were disdainfully discarded to the elements and creeping lichen. News of the sale of some of the fittings from the castle was received with delight at No. 1 Wing, and personnel were sent to have a look around.

It was discovered that the woodwork in the Governor General's residence was still in good condition. Most of the beams in the house which were used in the reconstruction of the Chateau Room, come from its main hall. The upright beams supporting the ceiling and the centre cross beams are authentic. All the beams were bought from the Trust for $250.00 by F/L Jean Lepage. The offer stated "all the wood he could take away in a truck", which was a suitably large flat-bed truck. They were dismantled and taken away from the castle by local builder M Manceaux of Montmedy. The other cross beams on the ceiling (not the authentic one in the centre were made locally in France, as if would have been almost impossible to use the heavy ones from the Chateau. The beams were, of course, mouldy from centuries of decay but were hand-washed, oiled and polished to their present state.

Two of the RCAF's more ingenious Construction Engineering Officers, F/Ls Jean Lepage and JC Richard directed the fabrication of the Chateau Room. A team was formed to undertake the necessary repairs and procure missing items to complete the decor. Among the team was M Pierson, a stone carver, who came from an old family of artisans. Another member was a M Sacaze who conceived the original idea of reconstructing a "Chateau Room" with a medieval inn decor. Unforfunately M Sacaze left No. 1 Wing before the project was completed. The hardware in the room was also taken from the castle and in all, perhaps only four modern nails (wihich are invisible to the naked eye) were used.

A lot of thought was put info the preparation of the original floor at Marville, and after much trial and error, a concoction of black and brown shoe paste mixed with ordinary cement, was found to be ideal. The finished floor was laid and worked to give the impression of being worn by centuries of marching feet. A plan view of the Avro Arrow, then under development, was included in the floor design.

The room incorporates such features as imbedded stairs, glass windows, a solid oak bar, a locally hewn stone fireplace and natural oak furniture. The blind stairway leading into the wall is part of the original castle stairway. A more detailed listing of all the significant features in the room follows. The total cost of the Chateau Room was $6,500.00 installed, however, total cost of materials was only $500.00 in US currency.

The Chateau Room was conceived and constructed under the direction of the 1956-1959 No. 1 Fighter Wing Base Commander, Group Captain DJ "Blackie" Williams. The Room was built using funds from the Marville Officers' Mess and a donation from AV Roe Canada Ltd. No public funds were used.

When G/C Williams officially opened the room in 1959, he ceremoniously burned the last board required to complete construction. The room was therefore unfinished, and was deemed to be under construction when France withdrew from participation in NATO's integrated forces in 1967. Under the terms of the NATO Infrastructure documents, projects under construction belong to the user Base, rather than the host country. Because of G/C Williams foresight, it was possible to remove the Chateau Room from France when the Canadians left.

When Canada's NATO forces were asked to leave France in 1967, the Officers at Marville gave the room to the RCAF, hoping that it would be recreated elsewhere. The decision was made to ship the Chateau Room to Canada. Surplus freight space was readily available as Marville was the overseas terminal for Air Transport Command. Plank by plank, the room was dismantled and carefully numbered in order to facilitate its reconstruction. It was flown to Trenton and stored at Mountain View for possible re-assembly by the Officers' Mess at Trenton.