Bernard descends from a Viking who invaded Normandy, France. The family subsequently became important knights and Anketil was invited to England by William the Conqueror to help administer his new kingdom. He was given three Manors in Leicestershire; Houby (the largest - now called Hoby), Sutone Chenil (now Sutton Cheney) and Anebine (now Ambion Hill, where the Battle of Bosworth was to be fought in the 15th century)

They were known as de Houby - adapted phonetically in the 14thC to Juby,

A full history may be found on the website of The Hoby and District Local History Society at: https://www.hobyanddistricthistory.co.uk/de-houby/

Bernard is the present Lord of the Manor.

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Medieval Pouancé & its Castle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pouancé - Just Ripe for Tourism.

 

Pouancé is an ancient medieval town in the Haut Anjou area of Maine et Loire (49)(pop. Appx 3,000) on the frontier between Brittany and France in the Rennes-Nantes-Angers triangle.  It lies at the axis of the main routes between Rennes – Angers and Laval – Nantes 1 and its old castle was besieged several times, once by the English during the Hundred Years War under John Beaufort, the Duke of Somerset, who gave up after two weeks because he was getting no-where.

 

At one time we held a medieval week-end when on alternate years, “Brittany” from Chateaubriant would attack “France” and vice versa 2. For reasons unknown Chateaubriant decided not to continue but the chateau remains, along with the old gate-house and the clock-tower leading to the Place de la Pillori. 3 There is also a walk around the remains of the old fortified wall as well as walks around the moat and lakes of the beauriful river Verzée, renowned for its fishing.

 

Inside the castle grounds is the site of the old drawbridge and portcullis with its flanking drum-towers 4  which is just crying out to be re-built along the lines of Guédelon (where they are building a castle from scratch using medieval building techniques). As well as being a huge tourist attraction it would encourage stone masons, carpenters and builders, together with apprentices to learn these old crafts and help soak up some unemployment at the same time. Our advantage is that we already have the footprint and footings on which to build.

 

It would also attract people to the town centre which is much needed since the local authority seems hell-bent on moving everything of importance to the periphery. The out of town supermarket has already impacted on the central shops, the police-station was moved several years ago and is being joined by a health centre and a second Town Hall, while the Tax Office was shut necessitating a fifty-plus kilometer round trip to Segré with its resultant added traffic pollution and inconvenience.

 

We have a well-established local group of enthusiasts only too willing to be involved and I have been writing to as many people as I can (including the Minister of Culture) to raise awareness and (hopeful) support.

A PowerPointPresentation of the Castle is available via www.academia.edu. - just type in either "Pouancé Castle" or my name to find it (in various parts due to space upload restrictions on the site. Here are two of the slides:

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The Corporate Heraldry Award of The Heraldry Society

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every 2 years the Heraldry Society looks at how Corporate Bodies & businesses worldwide use their Granted coats of arms and award a prize for the best. In 2021 it was won by Pouancé.​

You can read why via the PowerPointPresentation "CHA POUANCE 2021" (or type my name) on www.academia.edu.

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