8 curiosities, stories and anecdotes in Rivedoux-Plage

Of a surprising discretion, this manor house with its remarkable tower is the witness of the past of the future commune of Rivedoux-Plage. The first sources that mention it date back to 1480 when the lord of Ré, known as Louis Ist de La Trémoille, offered an estate located in the current village of Rivedoux to the local lord Jean I^st Arnaud-Bruneau. No Hastrel in sight, but that’s normal. It was not until almost 200 years later, in 1681, that the Bruneau heiress, Marie, married the Lord of Vaillon, Jean-Baptiste Christophe d’Hastrel. It is easy to guess that it is in homage to the latter that the manor will take its definitive name. The manor house was large and had two courtyards separated by a dwelling and surrounded by several outbuildings. The whole was enclosed by a wall whose entrance was on the street. There was also a private chapel built in 1724, and the famous tower housing the staircase connecting the floors. The manor remained in the family for many years. It was not until 1845 that the manor was sold and the estate divided into several parts to different owners. Subsequently, each of the buildings underwent modifications, gradually removing the remains that remind us of the presence of a manor house on this site. The tower had lost its roof and remained bare for many years. It was only in 2006 that it was given what is known as a slate “pepperpot roof”. As it is a private property, you cannot visit the site. However, feel free to approach it by heading towards the port of Rivedoux on the aptly named Rue du Comte d’Hastrel. In fact, the village’s port is a legacy of the very first one dating from 1562 that Jean Ist’s son, Jean-Pierre Arnaud-Bruneau, is said to have had built.

This is not the only house on the island that stands out in the landscape of its commune. If you go to Ars-en-Ré, you may quickly notice another bourgeois residence with a tower, but this time suspended: the Sénéchal house.

This is one of the most recent curiosities of the whole island of Ré. Created during the summer of 2022 under strong heat, this fresco is a symbol of the life that one can imagine in Rivedoux, or elsewhere, between the beach and the market. Created by Maxence Texerault during his studies, the project aimed to embellish a wall of the village hall and to bring a little joy to the passers-by. The young artist did not take long to paint this colourful and lively fresco. Yes, this work was done during the summer only, but it also takes up elements of the daily life of Rivedoux which took place before the artist’s eyes. Let’s take the example of the little dog in the centre of the illustration. It is said to be that of a regular passer-by living in the village. The market scene, as well as the cyclist and the inhabitants at the windows, also give a welcome dynamism to the fresco which nevertheless contains a little fantasy. If you look closely, in the distance in the sea, between the kite surfers and our cyclist, you will notice that a particular creature is pointing its tail out of the water. This time, this sea monster would be a request from a very young admirer. So if you are passing by Rivedoux-Plage, don’t hesitate to stop in front of this joyful and colourful work to observe the smallest details, because there will surely be other secrets to discover.

This fresco is the result of a reproduction of a smaller drawing made earlier. Maxence had to redo it to the scale of the two sections of wall, each 3 metres long. To do this, a grid was first drawn in order to reproduce the original work on paper, but in a larger size.

It’s a lovely, pretty fountain that awaits you in Rivedoux when you venture down the aptly named Rue de la Fontaine. Despite the fact that it looks brand new, you can imagine that it is not as simple as that. At least, the story of its origin and the well that goes with it. After all, who’s going to draw water from a fountain when you have running water at home? Perhaps the answer lies a little further back in time. In fact, at the end of the 1930s, the island was still a real island, with no bridge to connect it permanently to the mainland. So the people of Rivedous needed a way to get water. Only a few metres from this fountain, a small hand pump was installed. This pump was still used to distribute water for the whole village! It was located on a dirt road that was frequently used by carts and was used to fill the tanks for sulphating the vines. After the Second World War, refugees who had settled in Rivedoux offered the inhabitants an electric motor to automate the pump to thank them for their welcome. And fortunately, since the carts were more and more numerous. Then, around 1950, the road was tarred and the well disappeared, but without any major consequences since the households now had their own access to water. In 2008, the street was resurfaced and the well was brought back to life. Then, in 2009, the current fountain was built to symbolise this part of the village’s history. Does it work? Try it out on the spot.

Although Rivedoux only had a fountain, it also had a few wells which the inhabitants could use. You can see one at the corner of Rue Pasteur and Rue du Phare, a little further on. Moreover, there are quite a few wells in the other communes of the island which bear witness to this past.

You have surely seen it when you arrived on the island, standing on the shore opposite the port of La Rochelle. A witness to a bygone era, but not yet ready to end in gravel, the Sablanceaux pier is for many people an unforgettable childhood memory. And for good reason, for nearly 48 years it was the main link between the mainland and the island. But before it became what it is today, the pier was quite different. It was originally a wooden pontoon built around 1880 to replace a primary pier near the 13^th century Châteliers Abbey, when the port of La Rochelle, La Pallice, was created. However, Mother Nature did not seem to approve of this project, since about seven years later, the sand was now blocking access to the ships at low tide. Never mind! In 1896, the Department bought the whole thing and extended it. But the sand kept coming back. So much the worse! A new pier was built a little further on in reinforced concrete and with an iron footbridge and inaugurated in 1909. But once again, the sand came to play the spoilsport by silting it up this time. Never mind again!  In 1928, it was extended so that it could be used again. And two years later, it was decided to set up a ferry system to make regular connections between La Rochelle and the Ile de Ré. This time, the sand was left alone. However, the German soldiers during the Second World War changed the situation. The new pier was built in 1940 and was designed to accommodate the vehicles that would leave the requisitioned ferries to transport goods and passengers. Then the war ended. But the pier continued to be used for another 43 years before the bridge, in 1988, allowed it to retire for good. And to top it all off, the sand made a comeback. Never mind again and again?

In 1987, for its last year, 680,000 vehicles made the crossing. But it was in 1965 that a record was broken: 1,643,077 passengers took the ferry. The island bridge more or less surpasses it every year without ever doing much more even though it is easier to use!

Did you know that Sainte-Marie was the island’s largest village until 1928? Today, it’s called La Flotte. Any idea why? This date is not insignificant, as it refers to the year in which the birth of a brand new village on the island was proclaimed: Rivedoux-Plage. Yes, there was a time when the village of Sainte-Marie, along with La Noue, which has been attached to it for some time, extended from Les Grenettes, as it does today, to Sablanceaux, where the bridge will proudly stand. For the record, La Noue, one of Sainte-Marie’s districts, wanted to be administratively independent of the original village for many years. Unfortunately, all attempts failed. Then, in 1904, Rivedoux, a rather distant district at four kilometres, also tried. As with La Noue, the town council and then the Council of State refused. Nevertheless, many supporters of the idea, including those close to the government, joined the battle for independence. And in 1928, Rivedoux officially became a new commune with the approval of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. It was the result of its division with Sainte-Marie and the granting of some land by La Flotte. But without a town hall, everything remained to be done. The town hall was finally inaugurated in 1937. And in 1972, the church was consecrated, after 44 years of having to travel to Sainte-Marie to pray. Rivedoux may have been around for a long time, but historically speaking, it’s still a very young town.

When the vote was cast in favour of Rivedoux, it was necessary to find a name that sounded like a “village”. Rivedoux-les-Bains was thought of but in the end Rivedoux-Plages was chosen. And if you think there’s a mistake above, it’s probably because when the name was made official, there was a small typing error with the final “s” missing, hence : Rivedoux-Plage.