On Friday, 12th May, we went to Caen. In the morning, we visited quarries. We separated into 2 groups. The visit was in English and gave to us geological, technical, historical and other wonderful information. Our guide was very nice and very good. He explained to us everything clearly and simply.

The quarry we visited was used in 1986 for the last time. Refugees used it after Caen was bombed during WWII and the father-in-law of the guide was one of the refugees and went there to hide. In the quarry, we could find limestone, la Pierre de Caen. La Pierre de Caen is very white but absorbs water, so if it has water in it and if it is freezing, it can explode. Above the quarry, a district has been built.

Above one of the pillars in the quarry, there is a crèche. some pillars are very old, so, they have been reinforced with concrete. In winter, there are a lot of bats in the quarry. There are also wells, some are 25 meters deep, and were used to pull up blocks of la Pierre de Caen. One or two men were in a big wheel like a hamster wheel, and they walked and walked in the wheel to get la Pierre de Caen up.

A lot of cathedrals, have been built with this stone, especially Norwich Cathedral, the white tower of London, Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster, and also some castles, Hastings castle, Colchester castle … Now la Pierre de Caen is bought by Arab emirates, U. S. A and England, to build luxurious houses, it is kind of tribute to the past.

Arthur Frayssinet

Après le passage d’une pluie diluvienne 8 personnes se sont regroupées sur le parvis délavé de la Cathédrale auprès de Philippe Pinguet, notre guide bénévole. Ayant passé une année à Cambridge dans sa jeunesse son anglais était encore tout a fait à la hauteur de nos hôtes anglais.
Notre guide nous a fait découvrir pendant 3 heures haletantes : la Cathédrale, l’église St Maclou, l’église Jeanne d’Arc ainsi que les fresques de la cour d’honneur de l’hôtel de Bourgtheroulde.
Visite originale car Philippe a su susciter un réel intérêt en mettant en exergue certains détails méconnus mettant ainsi en valeur un élément historique, l’existence d’un  sarcophage de souverain anglais ou normand, révélant ainsi un pan de l’histoire.
Nos amis anglais cultivés l’ont souvent relancé sur les imbrications que les lignées de monarques entretenaient avec la France.
À la fois courtois et taquin, Philippe mériterait le verre que nous n’avons pas eu le temps de lui offrir.

Pascal Frayssinet