Practically all of the town’s gates have been destroyed over the course of history. One, Porte de Guillaume, has more or less resisted the assaults born of the passage of time and wars. But after being spared from all of that, it was almost totally destroyed by the German army. Today, it is part of a reconstruction project.
During the 9th century, the neighborhoods on the banks of the Eure were protected by some fortified structures that were gathered together along a stockade; some stonework ramparts were then built.
Porte Guillaume, reconstructed during the 14th century, was an example of Middle Ages military architecture. Everything that made up a fortress was in it: long openings (necessary for maneuvering drawbridges) were found in the main section over the double passageway of a low door which was for pedestrians; there was a portcullis and some crenellated space for arrows slits…The exterior façade was made up of two strong, rounded towers that were crowned with crenellations and machicolations, where the walkway and the rampart wall ended.
Over the centuries, it was through this gate that travelers from Paris entered the town. One would have to wait for the construction of the stone bridge, La Courtille, in the 18th century before traffic would be able to bypass the town. The gate brings the name “Vidame de Chartres, Guillaume de Ferrières” to mind. Under the revolution, when names that evoked the Old Regime were banned, the gate would be called “Porte Guillaume Tell [William Tell Bridge]!
Because of its architectural significance, it was allowed to survive the demolition of its walls, which had begun in 1806, at the time that Porte des Épars was brought down. In 1856, when it was used as a fuel warehouse for a nearby bakery, it was damaged by a fire. Once repaired, it would house a popular library.
Unfortunately, this building, which was classified as a historical monument in 1852, was almost totally destroyed by the German army as it retreated during the night of August, 15, and into the early morning hours of the 16th of 1944.
The presence of two rivaling authorities, the Count and the clergy, had, for a long time, been the source of conflicts. The canons had to go into exile several times during the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries because of brutality they suffered at the hands of the Count’s people (that they did not fail to excommunicate as a way of carrying out reprisals against them!).
In 1256, Count Jean de Châtillon authorized the chapter to enclose a quarter of the cathedral’s walls. This enclosure had nine gates that were usually closed at nighttime. This situation persisted until the 18th century. Most of the gates were demolished after the Revolution. This gate was also called the “Porte de l'Officialité” because an ecclesiastical tribunal used to hold sessions in an underground room know as the Saint André Fair. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the flax tow market used to be held in front of it; the flax tow was made from the hemp that was then cultivated in the Chartres region. It was possible to negotiate for up to 10,000 kg (22 000 lb) of flax tow at the “Enclos de Loën.”
During 1568, the war between Catholics and Protestants tore France apart. At the end of February of that year, 9,000 Protestant soldiers commanded by the Prince of Condé bring the siege before Chartres. The town received a garrison of 4,500 men, and the bourgeois of Chartres, who were good Catholics, went to their assistance. Porte Drouaise was attacked; after a day and a half, the Protestant artillery succeeded in making a breech in the wall that stood between the gate and the river. But the town’s governor had a second ground entrenchment, covered with wool balls to deaden the impact of cannon balls, set up. Some assaults on other sections failed; then the Protestants carried out the siege. The inhabitants of Chartres were proud, and legitimately so, because they had defended their faith in that way, and defended their town.
Where les Vieux Fossés and les Fossés Neufs [the Old and New Moat] sections meet up with the main part of the Eure, the Léthinière and Massacre towers defended the wall.
In February of 1591, Henry of Navarre, the future Henry IV, once his kingdom is conquered, brings a siege before Chartres. After two weeks of negotiations, the attack is launched in the town’s western section, where it will fail, then in this section, where they will force the inhabitants of Chartres to capitulate. Three years later, Henry IV will return to Chartres to be coronated king.
When the Tour du Massacre is restored, stone cannon balls will be found in the wall.
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