A century of history of the Antelma-Bérenguier house in Roquebrune on Argens

Through family archives, including photos and notarial acts, I was able to trace the main lines of the history of the house of my paternal ancestors

Located on the corner of the Grand Rue and Avenue Général de Gaulle in Roquebrune on Argens. It was a house « high of two floors on ground floor[1] with shed surmounted by an adjoining hay attic. » This set made the corner of the Grand Rue and the Avenue Palayson (or Villepey) (present-day Avenue Gal de Gaulle). His buyers were Louis and Eugénie Antelme, the parents of my paternal grandmother Jeanne Bérenguier (1908-1992). Louis (1884-1940), originally from the village of Trigance in the Haut-Var, was a seamstress and Eugénie (1886-1983) (née Clavel in Roquebrune) was a seamstress.

They bought it in 1919 and, in the forge on the ground floor, Louis continued his work as a marshal-ferrant for some time.

For reasons that I don't know exactly, but that I suppose related to the penity of his trade and the fact that Eugénie was a seamstress, Louis changed his activity, following the purchase in 1921 of Mr. Turc's business fund, a merchant of novelties and fabrics. In the space where the forge was located, there was a store where clothing, hats and other fashion items were sold.

A little later (on a date unknown), the old shed welcomed the store and the hay attic was transformed into rooms. The space thus liberated on the ground floor became the kitchen-stay of the family, a place I knew well in my childhood.

The Antelme-Bérenguier House is visible on a number of photos showing public events. Indeed, any parade that went from the bottom of the village to the Town Hall passed in front. During a parade on August 15, 1939, where officials, followed by the Alpine Hunters' Band, were preparing to take the Grand-Rue, it is recognizable thanks to its balcony overlooking the store's bank.

It was also at this intersection that, following the liberation of the village on August 17, 1944, a group of Roquebrunois met to celebrate this historic moment.

The street was already called Avenue General de Gaulle (a plaque visible on the wall of the house), a change that had probably taken place shortly before.

A few decades later, the name « Jane » was given to the store. The awning had disappeared.

« Jane » existed until the retirement of my grandmother Jeanne in the late 1980s. The store was then sold to the real estate agency Concerto, which was installed there for several decades. Since the early 2020s, this space has been occupied by an office of architecture (Architecture.20) and landscape (Simoncini Garden).

Jeanne continued to live in the house until her death in 1992. The house was then sold and divided into apartments. However, the front door, as I have always known, has been preserved. The old kitchen-living area, once again a commercial space, saw several shops succeed (a grooming salon, an electronic cigarette store). In recent years, he has found the design agency, Donnie & Glyde.