The presbytery

By deliberation on August 1st 1862 the town council decided to build a new presbytery to replace the former one which had been in a state of unhealthy dilapidation for a very long time. Already ‘in ruins’ in 1845, its condition had worsened, the ground floor was two metres below the garden level, the building was ‘humid and unhealthy’ (town council meeting of August 1st 1862). The archives mention that the priest had to ‘go up two flights of stairs and go over a real obstacle course’ to get into the church.

Having studied several sites for the new presbytery the council decided to build it in the grounds of the old one. The cost, around 20 000 francs would be twinned with the cost of building the new girls’ school which meant that the two projects together (for a total cost of 33 100 francs) would be eligible for a grant of up to 11 000 francs. A loan of 22 100 francs enabled the construction of the two new buildings and taxes covered the rest. The girls’ school was finally built in 1864, before the presbytery, and the budget for the presbytery was used also to repair the church which was also in a bad state.

The old presbytery was demolished in 1879 and the grounds were cleared and levelled to create the garden for the new presbytery.