HISTORY OF THE MANOIR

The Manoir d’Autoire has an illustrious past. We were amazed to find paintings and even photographs of former residents in the attic!
Since the 18th century, only five families have owned the residence, including the Breu, Canet, de Colomb, and Tardif families. According to the village archives, the old mill house behind the Manoir d’Autoire was inhabited by the Rieu family from 1750 to 1815. Among the more colorful personalities who have lived in the Manoir were Jean Joseph Augustin, Chevalier de Colomb, who was a body guard of King Louis XVI in 1777. He was general counsel and mayor of Figeac in 1808. His son, the future General Louis de Colomb (1823-1902), born in Figeac. De Colomb family members were glass-blowers, a craft which King Charles VII decreed could only be practiced by the nobility. Louis de Colomb was one of the youngest brigadier generals in France, eventually receiving the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. A year after his death, he was honored with the naming of a town in Algeria, Colomb-Bechar, where he had demonstrated exceptional leadership. Louis and his wife Eugenie Leomi had 3 children, including Berthe, Louise, and Albert de Colomb, who as Captain in the war in Indochina, was gravely wounded in 1885, resulting in the amputation of his leg. Albert’s son, the “Marquis” Jacques de Colomb, had a legendary fondness for foie gras and inspired a chapter of a book by W.S. Merwin. Louise de Colomb married Paul Bouju, an influential politician in Paris, who preferred “this calm, shaded place on the banks of the stream near the mill house”. Monsieur Bouju was also a poet:

Madame Louise Bouju’s portrait hangs in our dining room, as does her father’s; a photo believed to be that of Albert de Colomb also has a place of honor.