This event rounded off the summer and it was a real pleasure to eat, drink, chat and laugh together, after so many months of Covid restrictions in the lovely garden our two of our members.
From their home we drove the short distance to the Mausoleum just outside Roncey, where we were met by our guide, the former Mayor of Roncey. We were struck by the sheer size of this monument, with its castle-like design and tall tower. It was amusing to note that the tower remained slightly unfinished, as apparently tax only becomes payable once a building is completed!
After recounting the life story of Auguste Letenneur, who had this monument built for himself and his family, we were taken on a tour of the building. We began in the crypt, which once held the bodies of Auguste Letenneur, his wife and two of their children, until these remains were moved to the graveyard in Roncey in 1972. We then climbed up to what was the dining-room on the first floor and two bedrooms above, used for entertaining and lodging family members from afar on the occasion of religious ceremonies. The views from the very top of the tower were breathtaking.
The final surprise was to be found in the grounds: The concrete fountain built by Auguste Letenneur himself and was of a striking design indeed and an unusual monument to the dead.
