A hushed reverence hangs in the air. We stand before the Cimetierre de Montesson. Its history whispers through the weathered stones.
This isn’t just any cemetery. The Cimetierre de Montesson reflects centuries of Montesson’s life. From medieval times to the present day its silent residents tell tales of a village transformed. The cemetery itself moved in 1832. It expanded in 1881 based on an 1859 plan. A testament to the village’s growth.
Imagine the 14th century. Montesson was a small hamlet. A clearing in the woods near Chatou. It was known as Le Tronchet. The name means tree stump or clearing. A nearby spring attracted the first settlers. They called their home Mont Tesson perhaps Mont du blaireau badger’s mount.
By 1354 Montesson had become its own parish independent of Chatou. The two villages shared uncultivated land for grazing. This continued until the French Revolution. A 1406 census described the medieval village. About fifty houses were spread across four areas. Le Tronchet Le Moustier the Marais and Le Bon Puits. The area around the church cemetery and communal oven was Le Moustier.
The prior of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine was the lord of Montesson. He owned a manor surrounded by moats. It overlooked the street in front of Le Moustier. He also owned a wood called Bois du Prieur. Later Bois Sainte Honorine. It lay between the Marais and Le Bon Puits.
The Hundred Years’ War ravaged the region. The land lay abandoned. Life slowly returned. In the mid-16th century the village had around 200 inhabitants. Mostly farmers. Parisian bourgeois owned land and country houses.
The village economy was self-sufficient. They grew grains raised livestock and had some vineyards and orchards. The Vésinet forest provided wood and foraging resources. Henry IV bought the Vésinet forest in 1604 to expand his hunting grounds. The royal court often stayed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. This brought servants and officers to Montesson.
Perette du Four a Montesson native nursed the future King Louis XIV. Louis XIV rewarded her and her husband. They rebuilt the village church in 1662.
The church records from 1618 onward detail the population. It faced epidemics and famines. Newcomers from neighboring areas and provinces replenished the village.
The French Revolution ended seigneurial privileges. But Montesson’s lands remained intact. The Marquis de Feuquières acquired the seigneuries after Henri Léonard Bertin emigrated. The Marquise was arrested and guillotined in 1794.
The Cimetierre de Montesson stands as a silent witness to these events. Each headstone a story waiting to be discovered. It reminds us of the resilience and enduring spirit of Montesson. The people who shaped its history rest here in peace.