Circuit d'Aumont-en-Halatte

The sandy areas are numerous throughout the three forests of Chantilly, Halatte and Ermenonville, the most famous being the site of the theme park the Sea of Sand at Ermenonville. Sand mining, in particular for the glass industryand historically by Saint-Gobain, has been Important information about Aumont-en-Halatte but it has been completely shut down since the Second World War. What remains some quarries still in operation in the north-east of the forest.

This is the base, the buried part, of a bollard at the junction of three plots of land, the Bois de la Livrée belonging to the Constable Anne de MontmorencyA king's wood and a wood belonging to the bishop of Senlis. The cross-section, which is only a few centimetres above the ground, shows the start of the faces, which must have had the following features the coats of arms of the parcel owners. The causes and date of the destruction of this bollard are not known. However, as the base is well anchored in the ground, it is adeliberate destruction and nothing to do with forestry. For what purpose: to remove markers from the old regime, to cut out an example of an emblazoned boundary stone to keep it in another place...?

This marker is the most remarkable and easiest to find in the forest.
Like the next two terminals, on one side it shows the coat of arms of the King of France on the one hand, and the Constable Anne de Montmorencyhere with the date of 1540 on the King of France side. This milestone is not well positioned. Normally the coat of arms of an owner face the plot and the top of the bollard indicates the plot boundary. Roughly speaking, the right side of the road belongs to the Constable and the left to the King. Now the milestone is perpendicular to the path. It is likely that this milestone was used as a landmark for the layout of hunting routes in the 17th and 18th centuries. Removed later to avoid causing any inconvenience, it would have been put back in place along the path, but without respecting its orientation. A photo taken in 1905 shows the milestone in its entirety, out of the ground.

This bollard was dug up and lying on the ground. It was put back in place during the terminal rectification in November 2023, thanks to the Senlis History and Archaeology Society and the financial support of Senlis Rotary Club. Its position has been defined by a surveyor taking into account the other terminals. It's clear today the alignment of the four terminals which follow one another. To the south, the boundary marker shows the wood he had bounded in 1540, the Bois de la Livrée, the arms of Constable Anne de Montmorency and the date. To the north, facing the Bois du Roi, are the coat of arms of the King of France Royal coat of arms with three fleurs-de-lys, surmounted by the royal crown. This coat of arms with three fleurs-de-lys is often reused by royal cities or religious establishments founded by a king.

This milestone, in its original position, features the coat of arms of the King of France and the date on the north side and those of Constable Anne de Montmorency on the south side.
The north-west corner of the bollard was broken before engravingbecause royal coat of arms are off-centre and reduced to fit on the flat part. The coat of arms of Constable Anne de Montmorency consists ofa quarter of 4 times 4 alérions (small eagles used in heraldry) commemorating Montmorency victories above the shield, a tortil, the crown of baron, title of Anne de Montmorency in 1540 ; around the shield, the collar of the Order of Saint Michael, interlaced shells and medallion of the Archangel Saint Michael slaying the dragon. Finally, on either side, the sword of the Constable of France, recognisable by the fleurs-de-lys on the pommel. Anne de Montmorency was appointed Constable of France by François I in 1538.

The milestone stands at the junction of three plots of land. The coat of arms of the Constable de Montmorency and the King of France can be seen. The third side shows an escutcheon containing "Le Morel" written in Gothic script. This refers to Jean or Jehan Morel, lieutenant of the baillage of Senlis in 1540 ("The" for "I"). Bois Morel, of which we will see other landmarks, is the woodland of the town's bailiwick.
The top of the bollard shows, in relief, plot boundaries. This is clearly visible when several plots join together, as is the case here, but it is also the case when there are an inflection in the parcel boundary. This feature is exceptional in France. This bollard had been dug up and laid on the ground. It was also the subject of a reinstalled during the bollard rectification campaign end 2023.

Mount Alta is the hill we're standing on, 142m above sea levelwhose name is associated with that of the Halatte forest.
The crossroads is at the intersection of Route de l'Arbre à Fougères and Route Sarrobert. It is not at the highest point, as we are only 139m above sea level.

The Mont Alta polewhich appears in the 1733 State of the Forests, had disappeared. A new post, identical to the old onehas recently been set up by the APTF, Association des Poteaux des Trois Forêtswhich looks after maintaining, renovating and safeguarding these historic posts on the three forests of Chantilly, Halatte and Ermenonville.

This milestone, and the next, mark the eastern boundary of Bois Morel, We have seen the first boundary marker on the western boundary with the Constable's Wood. These are not the series of armorial markers from 1540, but markers identified by letters, i.e. simply engraved. On its eastern edge, Morel Wood is bordering a wood belonging to Saint-Vincent de Senlis abbey. This milestone is engraved The letters RSV stand for Religieux de Saint-Vincent.

There is no engraved date, nor any preserved document relating to this demarcation, which is very different from that of 1540, but it is probable, by analogy with other demarcations, that it dates from from the 17th century. The bollard rectification operation in November 2023 only concerned the armorial bollards. Another campaign will have to be undertaken for these.

This is a angle terminalIt is aligned with the previous bollard. The relief on the top of the milestone marks the boundary of the plot of land, which takes a angle of more than 90° to the south. The woods of the Saint Rieul chapter encompasses, in a way, the wood of thehe parish of Aumont-en-Halatte. The coat of arms of the chapter of Saint-Rieul are repeated identically on each of the north and south-east faces, the latter with the date 1540. The coat of arms of Aumont-en-Halatte, representing the patron saint of the commune, Saint Gervais, are this time in a badgeon the west face, inside the angle drawn by the milestone.

Even though the two markers are barely 50m apart and visible from each other, they are not part of the same parcel boundary line. This terminal is Morel Wood, at the junction of three parcels belonging to the Chapter of Saint-Rieul, the Bishopric of Senlis and the Bailiwick of Senlis. Bois Morel ends at this marker to the south. The coat of arms of the Chapter of Saint-Rieul straddles the west and south faces at right angles. They face the coat of arms of the chapter of Saint-Rieul on the previous boundary stone: here we are to a constriction in the plot which is vaguely shaped like an 8. The entire height of the bollard has been cracked, probably due to frost, with a piece missing from the coat of arms of the Chapter of Saint-Rieul. Although the fracture is old, given the condition of the stone, restoration will be necessary to prevent further deterioration.

We are on our way on the edge of the Bois de FossesThis marker, as indicated by its upper relief, is at the junction of the three parcels of land belonging to the Constable, the Chapter of Saint-Rieul (another, smaller wood than the one we have just left) and the Chapter of Saint-Rieul. of the Romain familyone of the few lay families to own plots of woodland in the Halatte forest. The milestone is of atypical shape The north face is surprisingly wide and relatively thin. The coat of arms on the north face is that ofe Louis de Romain, Lord of Betz and Sauveterre: quarterly Gules a tower Or and Sable a lion rampant Argent. The upper left-hand part of this face has been broken off. This took place before the engraving, as the coat of arms and the date are off-centre to the right to take account of this missing part.

As you enter the undergrowth, you'll discover a straight ditchThis is a continuation of the great width of the milestone. In the Middle Ages, forest parcel boundaries were often made by a ditch and an embankment made up of ditch embankments all placed on the same side. In the absence of roads in the forest, these ditches could be used to get around. When the milestones were erected in 1540, they were placed on the embankment.   

It is quite remarkable to discover this ditch, which is over 500 years oldwhich is probably older than the boundary stones and has not disappeared despite logging.

This bollard represents the separation between the Bois de Fosses connétable de Montmorency, on the road side, and a wood belonging to the chapter of Saint-Rieul, the smallest, called "au-dessus d'Aumont".

It is aligned on the southern axis of the previous boundary marker, and the parcel boundary continues 110m further down, before branching off to the east.

This milestone features the connétable's coat of arms on its north face, visible from the road, and an empty escutcheon on the south face, as this is not a parcel of woodland, but the territory of the municipality of Aumont-en Halatte. This bollard was placed on the ground along the path, out of line with the other bollards.
When the bollards were reinstalled in November 2023, surveys showed that it should have been located on the current path. It is possible that it was used as a landmark when forest roads were laid out in the 17th and 18th centuries for hunting purposesand was then removed and deposited by the roadside. It was therefore relocated as close as possible, but it is the only one that could not be returned to its original position.

When we passed the alignment between this boundary stone and the previous one, we came out of the Constable's Bois de Fosses, and it is therefore the side of the boundary stone with an empty escutcheon that we can see. The north face, facing the Bois de Fosses, bears the Constable's coat of arms and the date 1540. The line drawn by the bollards is still the boundary between the forest to the north and the land register of the municipality of Aumont-en-Halatte to the southeven if this part is wooded. This milestone, on the slope on the slopes of Mont AltaThe bollard was lying on its side and partly buried in the ground as a result of water run-off. During the bollard repair campaign in November 2023, it was completely rebuilt. cleared and put back in exactly the same place after filling in the hole caused by erosion.

This boundary is different from the previous one, which is straighter: further proof that Several workshops have been working on the creation of these terminals to satisfy a large demand over a short period of time.

On the side opposite the road, it bears the date 1540 and the coat of arms of Constable Anne de Montmorency. On the other side, the coat of arms is empty. This bollard was badly leaning and was part of the campaign to straighten the armorial bollards. carried out in November 2023, enabling us to see it today in its original position.

The upper relief of the bollard the boundary of the plot which faces south-east at an angle of 30°.

The side along the wall has a blank escutcheon, like the previous ones, and the side facing the road displays the date 1540 and the coat of arms of Constable Anne de Montmorency. As can be seen from the mark on the milestone, it was partially buried, probably as a result of sinking and above all the soil brought in by run-off water. It was from the recovery campaign from November 2023 so that the Constable's coat of arms could be fully visible.

This milestone, which marks the end of this forest trail, is exceptional. It is the only one at the junction of 4 plots.as shown by the relief on the top of the bollard. The owners' coats of arms face their plots. To the south-west is the bare face of the commune of Aumont-en Halatte (there is not even a trace of a coat of arms), to the north-west the coat of arms of Constable Anne de Montmorency, the Bois de Fosses, and to the south those of the bishopric of Senlis, another of his woods. L’évêché était le grand propriétaire de la forêt d’Halatte après le roi. A l’est, on voit la date de 1540 et la croix des Templiers surmontée des lettre D et LA, armoiries de la commanderie de Laigneville, ancienne commanderie templière qui échut à l’ordre de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem lors de l’abolition de l’Ordre du Temple.