Challes: picturesque houses, a pump, and a vanished swan

Challes is a hamlet of Stavelot and has been part of the city since before the mergers of 1977. It is located at an altitude of about 280-300 meters not far from the confluence of the Amblève and Eau Rouge.

Not far from that confluence, we see what was once a beautiful white manor farm. The core of the hamlet consists of a few small grouped houses with a typical rural architecture from the past. The buildings are constructed of rubble stone or in half-timbering. The roof is covered with cherbins, large slates with partially rounded contours. Slate is also a material that is typical for the region.

Feel free to take your time to admire the half-timbering. A French technical term for half-timbering is pan-de-bois or colombages. The way the wooden beams are brought together in the wall plane can take various forms such as a projecting parallel grid, St. Andrew's crosses, or, as in this case, a rectangular lattice. The spaces between the wooden beams can be filled with bricks, plaster, or a woven wattle of twigs and clay. In that case, the wall is often coated with a white lime layer. Also, take a look at the blochets. These are short pieces of half-timbering that are placed at a corner between two horizontal beams and serve as supports.

A small cast-iron pump of a model that can still be found everywhere in the city of Stavelot and its surroundings stands by the house at the road junction. These pumps date from the late 19th century, after a period of cholera epidemics, when municipal governments followed the science and installed drinkable water everywhere. There were enough sources of drinkable water in the region. To this day, the pump provides fresh water, albeit through a modern faucet. The old limestone trough that usually accompanies such a pump and where laundry was done has disappeared. Nearby stands a typical Ardennes wooden cross. The shelter made of two slanted slats and a sturdy back protects the cast-iron Christ from the elements. Perhaps you will see a solitary swan in the meadows? A few years ago, partner Sylvie disappeared. A call went unanswered.

The site was classified as a monument in 1981. You can tell that the residents are proud of their place by the stele, a boulder of quartzite, on which a framed drawing of the hamlet is displayed. From here, it is a beautiful walk along the Amblève.

Jan Rymenams