Frequent visitors to the garden include deer, wild boar, red squirrels, wrens, jays, woodpeckers, owls and falcons. 

For the last three years we have had barn owls successfully raising young from the protection of an opening on the east side of the attic.  On the west side, the falcons have also raised young.  We are used to seeing the "test flights" by day and night.

Our domestic stock include geese, ducks, chicken and goats. 


A "Mesnil" is the old word for a large farm or small country house, whose occupant – the Squire – was lower in the scale of nobility than the Seigneur of a "Manoir".  In this part of France, it is pronounced without the "s" ~ Menil, which confuses most visitors, including the French.

On the old map it is spelt "Menil", so the locals may be correct!

"Amand" was a Saint who travelled in France, Belgium and Holland in the 13th Century.  Although I have not found any evidence that he came to this area, there are also other local villages which bear Amand as part of the name.

I have pieced together parts from the "Cassini de St. Malo" to create a mini map (310kB) of the surrounding area. Click click here to view the map.

The church of St. Pierre & St. Paul in Mesnil Amand is near to the "Bourg" (centre) and the Mairie (Town Hall).  These days it is only used to host special events, but remains open most of the time.

The wooden barrel-vaulted roof (a bit like an upturned boat) is unusual and worth a look.

The walls and windows tell stories of local family history.


Geologically, we are based on a plateau with various layers of shale, clay and sandstone.  There is also granite locally.  The small streams and rivers surrounding Le Mesnil Amand have created an island-like area for the village.  In winter, we can be isolated with snow and ice.  The clay layer is near the top and it is only necessary to dig 1-2 metres down in order to reach water and create a pond or a lake.  Most of the houses have their own private water supply, but are also fed from the water company.  La Grosterie is built below the clay layer and so we cannot create our own instant water features.

In the past the village was bigger, boasting a water mill, bread ovens in most houses, a school, church and a village hall.  The school has now gone and the mill is only evident on the old maps.

A good neighbour Marthe Joret was showing me the research that she had done with her family tree.  Previously, her family name was de Percy (the town called Percy is close by).  The name rang a bell for me and with a little research in the Internet, I recalled the de Percy name from the UK ("Harry Hotspur" who was killed in the battle at Shrewsbury, fighting against Henry IV).

The picture is of Harry Hotspur and is not Marthe!

Marthe was of course very pleased to learn of the interesting historical links.

Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland.