Thiviers, the town of Tibère.
According to tradition, named Tiverio in 1212 and Tiberios in 1365 has Roman origins presumably because it is situated on the road which used to run from Vésone, the capital of the Lemoviceses but archaeological evidence may cast some doubt upon this. In any case, it appears, since the 11th Century to have been one of the 32 enclosed towns of Perigord.
Standing high above the town is the clifftop castle of Vaucocourt. This valley offers protection and seclusion, hiding even the elevated ramparts, whereas Planeau, a town which has long since disappeared stood in the plain as the most northerly outpost.
Other fortifications which stood along this defensive line were : Banceil (recently restored). Forward of the defensive line are : Filolie a true 15th century manor surrounded by miniature walls. This setting was recently used to form the backdrop for the reconstruction of the events of 1789 in Thiviers. Others were : Les Limagnes and Razac.
The streets of Recollets, Jules Sarlandie and André Gay were originally ditches and once again follow the contour of the earlier battlements.
Click to enlarge - Château de la Filolie
The Church of Thiviers
Dedicated to 'Notre-Dame', the church dates from the 12th Century. It has been altered many times particularly after the wars of religion when it was partially destroyed.		 Click to enlarge -Photo M.Mathis Click to enlarge - Photo M.Mathis
On two of Thiviers' church columns are the ghoulish carvings of monstrous men. These are similar to the columns of San Isidoro de Léon and it was thought that the drawings had been brought along the pilgrimage route by itinerant 'picture sellers'. The explanation is that Thiviers was one of the points along the way for Saint-Jacques de Compostelle. Reminders of the Thiviers of this time are still clear. The Saint Jacques Quarter is still situated towards the south (in the direction of Saint Jacques de Galice).
In the same way, the Saint Roch field was turned to face Limoges ; a chapel stood in the current site of the Saint Roch crossroads. The statue of the pilgrim saint would become the arrivals. (This effigy now stands in the church).
 Click to enlarge - Croix Saint-Roch
TIMES OF WAR ...
Unfortunately, Thiviers's function as a prestigious stopping place along the pilgrimage route will not protect the town from the suffering of war. In 1211, Jean Sans Terre took posession.
The following year, it was taken back by Guy, Viscount of Limoges. From 1374 to 1376, it is once again occupied by the English, later to be driven out by Charles VI.
It is a time of plague and famine. From 433 dwellings (around 2600 inhabitants) in 1365, the population served by the provost fell to 20 homes in 1503.
That was not the end of the hardship and in 1575, the Calvinists took the town and all those who showed resistance were put to the sword. Walls were torn down, both the chateau and the church were destroyed. The people of Thiviers dressed their wounds, rebuilt the ramparts and restored their church. The names of certain gates which were breeched within the town survive today in the Rue de la Tour (street of the Tower) and l’impasse Pèze  (The Peze dead end) : The Peze Gate was that the one which opened towards Limoges. By la Rue Traversière, (Lamy Street) and La Rue du Thon (Jean Jaurès Street) you would arrive at La Porte du Thon near the chateau of Banceil.

In 1601, the Convent des Recollets is founded outside the city halls. It will be seized in 1793 as a result of the Revolution. Its buildings have served as a town hall and a school, its chapel became a centre for the sale of grain and foodstuffs. This is why La Place du Peyrat is often called La Place du Minage.
THE COAT OF ARMS OF THIVIERS
It is in 1641 that we first see the coat of arms including a bell which is wrongly considered to be the true coat of arms of Thiviers. The ancient coat of arms : a sinople tree on a field of silver flanked by two golden fleurs de lys remind us of the vast forests which formerly surrounded Thiviers ; but the bell, however keeps alive the memory of the biggest of all the bells of Abjat sur Bandiat. As a result of an arrest in Nérac, on 8th May 1641, it was decided to transfer the responsability to Thiviers for the murder of François de Vaucocourt, captain to the King and Governor of the town by the townsfolk of Abjat on the occasion of a peasants revolt. This bell, placed symbolically on the coat of arms was actually sited in the mortuary chapel of the Vaucocourts, La Chapelle de Saint Laurent, where, as a result of its great weight (900 kg), it caused the bell tower to collapse in 1735.		 Blason with the bell
Blue of Thiviers - Click to enlarge

Wolves - Click to enlarge		   LE CHAMP DE FOIRE (THE FAIR GROUND)
This new suburb was created beyond the ramparts, once again demolished, at the time of the insurrection : Le Champ de Foire. Many pleasing inns and hostelries opened there. The fairs attracted many barges and set about re-establishing the products agriculture and craftsmanship of Thiviers.
In 1789, the Dubourvieu Pottery produced 4-5000 pieces of their famed beautiful enamel porcelain,the 'Thiviers blue' was particularly renamed. It disappeared in 1907 but the Desmarthon Factory, established around 1850, maintained its production up to 1927 (such as those pots which contained the balsam from the Farnier guillotine).
The disappearance of the potteries coincided strangely with the extinction of the last wolves of Perigord. Strangely, it was at this precise time that a she-wolf and her cubs were taken to the wood at Saint Germain. Some time later a magnificent pair were killed at La Bécou sur la Côle. Both animals were stuffed and are still on display in the chateau at Razac.
THE PARK
The most beautiful ornamental feature of Thiviers, aside from its majestic architecture is, without doubt, its park. It is worth remembering that it was still a private park up to the begining of the 20th century. It was the park of the Theuliers.
The Theulier Family, famous Thiberians has produced mayors, deputies and councillors since the Revolution, the last one being Albert who died in 1912. One of them was a doctor who travelled overseas and brought back exotic plant which he would share amongst the members of his family.
The rubber plants have long-since died but the Sequoias, the Cedars of Lebanon and the Virginian Tulips still constitute the incomparable boudaries for the sports ground, the swimming pool, the open-air theatre and the festival areas. The water, stored hight above the town supplied the tanks on the terraces and even the orangery which occupied a spot above the tax-office. This romantic setting provided the inspiration for Léonce Bourliaguet in his novel 'Le Parc aux Prêles'.
The park and the house were sold to the council, the house becoming the current Town Hall..

NOWADAYS,
The commercial future of Thiviers, based on the production of its soil continues to assert itself.
The old motto of Thiviers : Fortiter ac suaviter (with courage and kindness) sums up aptly the history of the town - endowed with moral resource to overcome its adversaries and full of hope to guarantee its future. With all of this in mind,Thiviers forms links of friendship with Europe in its broadest sense since it has become twinned with Javea and Cistierna in Spain and Östringen in Germany.


Author Jean-Pierre MONTEL Back to top