Does somebody know anything about the original "Tour de Croy" tower?
Upvote:8
The Tour de Croy was completed in 1765, according to the Chatillon site page Histoire de la ville. Construction took place in stages, starting in 1763. The height was eventually 50 feet in total.
It seems to have functioned as an observatory from the start, and it is referred to as la Tour de M. le Duc de Croy on page 61 of Histoire de l'Academie royale des sciences (1772) in an account by M. Le Monnier SUR UNE ECLIPSE HORIZONTALE DE LA LUNE, VUE A CHATILLON on the 23rd of December, 1768.
The Duc de Croy who built the observatory / tower was Emmanuel de Croÿ-Solre (1718-84), who was Maréchal de France (Marshal of France, the highest military honour in France). The Duc
manifeste un interet passionne pour les sciences de la nature. Il construit une toure-observatoire a Chatillon...
Translation: had a passionate interest in the natural sciences. He built a tower-observatory in Chatillon...
Anne-Emmanuel de Croÿ-Solre (1718-1784). Image source.
The observatory is mentioned several times in his journal and was used by the French astronomer Pierre Charles Le Monnier, among others. It appears to have cost the Duc 28,800 livres (pounds), a sum which was
bien cher pour une pareille folie, mais pas trop pour la réussite et la beauté de' l'endroit, qui était généralement admiré, quand on y allait par un beau temps, car cette vue écrasait toutes celles des environs de Paris et maisons du Roi, et l'endroit fut fort utile aux astronomes;
Translation: dear [expensive] for such a folly, but not too much for the success and beauty of the place, which was generally admired, when one went there in good weather, for that view surpassed all those around Paris and the King's houses, and it proved very useful for astronomers;
According to a web page on the Tour Biret, the Tour de Croy was
de cinquante pieds de haut sur la butte de la glacière de M. Raffard.
Translation: fifty feet high on the mound of Mr. Raffard's cooler.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any drawings or plans of the Tour de Croy but a few of the features are mentioned in the Duc de Croy's journal. He mentions there was a belvedere (a summer house or open-sided gallery, typically at rooftop level, commanding a fine view). It was evidently built in stages; in Sept 1763,
Je décidai de l'élever de dix pieds de plus, au moyen de quoi j'espérais dominer sur tous les arbres,...
Translation: I decided to raise it by ten feet more, by which I hoped to dominate all the trees,...
He also mentions the addition of two staircases and a balcony, and twice describes it as "charmant" (charming).
Emmanuel de Croÿ-Solre was also the driving force behind another Tour de Croy, begun in 1757 and completed in 1758. This tower, on the coast at Wimereux, had a defensive purpose during the Seven Years War.
.jpg?uselang=fr){kind=link}
More post
- 📝 During the Korean War, what B-29 crew roles did the abbreviations IVO, CFC, and VC mean?
- 📝 Where, exactly, was the "Sudetenland?"
- 📝 Could skirmishers pass through friendly formations in ancient/medieval warfare?
- 📝 What does the following picture represent in historical context?
- 📝 Is there a group picture of RMS Titanic's 8 officers?
- 📝 Why are U.S. Northwestern metropolitan areas set back from the coast?
- 📝 Why were the people from the Southeast in the US so different from the rest of the US?
- 📝 Term for one culture having a large influence over surrounding cultures?
- 📝 A zoo during the rule of Omayyad or Abbasid dynasty?
- 📝 Identification of Seaplane Type
- 📝 What exactly did the 1868 Szepes Petition do?
- 📝 Is it true that Germans in World War 2 did not suffer punishment for refusing genocidal orders?
- 📝 What was the British version of the Enigma machine?
- 📝 What was the Hospitaller gonfalon like in the 12th and 13th centuries?
- 📝 Is there a consensus on when history began?
- 📝 Were covered wagons used on the Federal Road in North GA in the early 1830's?
- 📝 What class / type of ship was the "Dragon" from Rotterdam c. 1732?
- 📝 Can anyone identify this coin found in Spain?
- 📝 Where can I find the original "On the New Rules for Destroying Countries" (1901) by Liang Qichao?
- 📝 When the term "president" was used the first time?
- 📝 Why did the Nazis collaborate with the Ustaše?
- 📝 Did any contemporary sources write about Jesus?
- 📝 How were Father-Presidents of California Missions chosen?
- 📝 Why does the Puerto Rican flag look so much like the one of the U.S.A.?
- 📝 Did John Wesley pray because he had not been persecuted in three days?
- 📝 Were the first African Americans in Jamestown slaves or indentured servants?
- 📝 Canadian inter-tribal wars
- 📝 Where did the money come from to build the Colosseum?
- 📝 Identify this sword!
- 📝 What would the Arch of Titus have looked like painted?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Does somebody know anything about the original "Tour de Croy" tower?
- 📝 Do we know anything in detail about the effect of the black death on Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 📝 Does anyone know anything about medieval instant pottage?
- 📝 How does finding a Franklin ship change what we know about the expedition?
- 📝 Does anyone know anything about this poem
- 📝 Does anyone know anything on the history or any other information on this dagger?
- 📝 Did Churchill and Roosevelt know about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, or the following secret pacts between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union?
- 📝 Did the Romans know about China?
- 📝 Did the aborigines of Australia and the Maoris in New Zealand know about each other's existence, before the Europeans came?
- 📝 What historical evidence is there for the existence of Jesus Christ? What do we know about him?
- 📝 What did the average German citizen know about the war?
- 📝 Did the Inca Empire know about the Polynesians, or vice versa?
- 📝 What did the Soviets know about the Hunger Plan during WWII?
- 📝 What do I need to know about Syria's history to understand the 2011-2012 uprising?
- 📝 What do we know about the organizational structure of the Library of Alexandria?
- 📝 From where does the superstition about Friday the thirteenth originate?
- 📝 How do we know that Louvre version of Mona Lisa painting is the original one painted by Leonardo Da Vinci?
- 📝 What is the original German version of Bismarck's phrase about intentions and capabilities?
- 📝 What did the Jews during the First Jewish-Roman War know about other anti-Roman revolts?
- 📝 What do we know about the location of Islamic schools in pre-colonial Africa?
- 📝 Does anyone know the history on this artillery shell I found in my grandfather’s shed?
- 📝 At what point did mapmaking begin to accurately reflect what we now know about the earth?
- 📝 How did Vasco da Gama know about the Southern Cross?
- 📝 How much did the western world know about the Soviet Union pre-WWII?
- 📝 Did Hitler, or any non USSR residents in the 30s-40s know about Stalin's purges?
- 📝 What do we know about the squadron that evacuated Moore's force after Corunna?
- 📝 What did the English people during the Peasants' Revolt know about the Ciompi Revolt?
- 📝 What were Lord Macartney's original words about Chinese under the Qianlong Emperor's brutal regime in 18th century?
- 📝 Does anyone know of any examples of the Magnus effect in a real battle?
- 📝 Did Stephen the Great know about the discovery of the New World?