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Draft:Jard Stadium

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The Stade du Jard is an sports club located in the town of Mérignac created by Henri CapbernGasqueton in 1919. They also own Château Capbern-Gasqueton and Château Calon-Ségur in Saint-Estèphe (Gironde)

Toponymy

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In the 18th century, Le Jard was a hamlet surrounded by land and vineyards, between the Bourran estate to the east and today's Avenue de Bédat in Capeyron. Its toponymy differed in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 18th century, the name "Jart", from Old French jardin, appears on the mid-18th-century Cassini map, sheet 104, digitized on Gallica

 
Carte générale de la France : Bordeaux : feuille 104, de Cassini, XVIIIe siècle

In the 19th century, the word "Jard", meaning "jardin, i.e. garden", appeared on the cadastral map of 1811. In fact, the Jard lands are located on ancient gravel terraces of the Garonne river, ideal for vine-growing.

History

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The Domaine du Jard was purchased in September 1919 by Henri Capbern Gasqueton (1886–1972) from Monsieur Tuffereau, owner-dairyman at the Domaine des Herbiers, according to the bill of sale dated September 5, 1919, no. 386. It was sold on June 28, 1961, in order to purchase the Château d'Agassac on the same day.

A sports enthusiast, Henri CapbernGasqueton and his four brothers transformed it into a sports stadium, commonly known as "Parc de la Vie au Grand Air" or "Parc des sports de Bordeaux". The CapbernGasqueton brothers, meanwhile, created the sports club la V.G.A.M., Vie au Grand Air du Médoc, in 1909. The name refers to the illustrated sports magazine "La vie au grand air", published from 1898 to 1922. They took turns as president. Henri CapbernGasqueton built three soccer pitches, two field-hockey pitches, four tennis courts, one basketball court, one athletics track and field, one cricket, a swimming pool, a horse-riding arena, stables, a speedway for cycling, a track for road races and even a campsite.

Before they acquired the property, from 1907 to 1919, football and field-hockey games, took place at the Domaine du Pin-Galant, which belongs to the Samazeuils, a Bordeaux family of bankers.

At the time, the Jard was the largest sports facility in the Bordeaux area, covering 13 hectares. On the back of the postcard showing an aerial view of the "Parc de la Vie au Grand Air, le JARD-MERIGNAC", it says: "the largest sports facility in the Bordeaux region".

The Jard stadium in Mérignac was very popular, as it was difficult to get around during the Second World War except by direct streetcar to "Jean-JaurèsMérignac", as evidenced by the Jard advertising postcard. Who went to the Jard? Firstly, players from other Bordeaux sports clubs, such as B.E.C. and S.B.U.C., trained there, as the Jard stadium offered two advantages: it was general-purpose and close to Bordeaux. Then, there were the outdoor enthusiasts and supporters of the V.G.A.M., like André Boyer of the Bordeaux Academy. In short, "Bordeaux smart set" met there, from all walks of life. The JARD estate was very welcoming. The Henri Capbern Gasqueton's obituary, published on February 3, 1972 in the "Sud-Ouest" newspaper, mentioned that: "'He was an outstanding personality, devoted body and soul to his club. He made the Jard an oasis for those who were eighteen (1922), and it filled the youth of thousands of teenagers".

The stade du Jard is famous for its sports competitions.

As early as 1919, the Capbern Gasqueton brothers set about organizing soccer and field-hockey matches at the Jard, without telephones, but by mail, to keep the V.G.A.M. alive. In 1916, Henri Capbern Gasqueton introduced field-hockey to Bordeaux via Eveleyn Hutchinson, who imported the sport with her sister Stella (see "Théâtre-Sports", October 1957, No. 135, "Quelles leçons tirer d'un Cinquantenaire?").

To help his teams improve, he organized field-hockey matches abroad. The women's field-hockey won the French championship in 1946 (with five international players) and in 1948 with a V.G.A.M. player, Catherine Capbern Gasqueton, daughter of Henri Capbern Gasqueton.

According to "Théâtre-Sports" (1959), this policy of exchanging and multiplying field-hockey matches intensified in the years 1952-1961. Moreover, "'Bordeaux remains one of the centers where field hockey is most honored'" ("Théâtre-Sports", 1957, N° 136, in the "Revue du field hockey bordelais").

Between 1909 and 1963, the Capbern Gasqueton brothers played an active role in the development and feminization of the sport. The first women's field- hockey teams date back to 1917-1918. Henri Capbern Gasqueton became president of the Ligue du Sud-Ouest (1920–1924), followed by his brother Etienne (1931–1933).

Henri Capbern Gasqueton fought to keep his sports club, V.G.A.M. (Vie au Grand Air du Médoc), alive by appealing to the media. He commissioned the famous Bordeaux printing house Péchade to publish advertising postcards of Le Jard from the 1930s, which are held by the Mérignac municipal archives.

In addition, he founded the monthly magazine "Théâtre-Sports" in January 1909, and together with his brothers supervised its publication until 1968, publishing articles relating to the life of the V.G.A.M.

Henri Capbern Gasqueton also entered the film business in 1951 to develop the V.G.A.M.'s horse-riding activities, managed by Hubert Capbern Gasqueton, his son, with producer Couzinet (in "Théâtre-Sports", January 1959, N° 140, p. 4). Finally, in 1954, television filmed for the first time the Primerose-Racing Club de France match at the Stade du Jard.

Henri Capbern Gasqueton led also an active policy of sponsoring, thanks to companies like Air France, les Nouvelles Galeries, or the vine-growers "Barton et Guestier"  so as to fund V.G.A.M., and the upkeep and maintenance of the facilities (in "Théâtre-Sports", 1961, N° 146, p. 4)

Unfortunately, urbanization around the Jard sports complex began in 1953 with the construction of 48 low-cost housing units in the Cité Galvani, thus reducing sporting activity. Then, with the sale of the Jard in 1961 to the property developer "Société R. Cornilier et Cie", part of the Jard stadium site was converted into housing. It wasn't until 1970 that Mérignac town council declared the previously untouched part of the Domaine du Jard to be protected in the public interest, and bought seven and a half hectares of land from the company R. Cornilier et Cie. The current sports complex was later built there.

Today, along with the Robert Brettes municipal stadium in [Mérignac (Gironde)], Le Jard plays host to the reserve teams of Sport AthlétiqueMérignacais and other sports sections of the multi-sport club.

Finally, between 1950 and 1960, the life of the Jard and the V.G.A.M. was punctuated by a series of local, national and international sporting events that were famous in Bordeaux. These events remain firmly anchored in the memory of the people of Bordeaux.  Today, thanks to an active policy on the part of the Mérignac town council, Le Jard is continuing its sporting and social dynamic processes: youngsters enjoy the sports facilities and the elderly have meals in dedicated premises, where they can meet up as before.

Domaine du Jard owners

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  • Mr Palmer : January 2, 1833
  • MrGraterolle : December 10, 1860
  • Mr Bernard Emmanuel Legrand, merchant : April 22, 1866
  • Mr Gérard de Secondat de Montesquieu, mayor of Mérignac from March 31, 1875 to March 30, 1876: October 27, 1880
  • Mr Georges Tuffereau : owner and dairyman: October 12, 1901
  • Mr Henri Gasqueton : September 5, 1919

Personalities invited or linked to the JARD and the history of the V.G.A.M.

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.Tenor René Lapelleterie (1884–1956) from "Théâtre-Sports", August 1956, No. 132, obituary

.The Queen of England will decorate Evelyn Hutchinson, former captain of La Vie au Grand Air du Médoc and importer of women's field hockey to France, at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday March 21, 1967, according to "Théâtre-Sports", March 1967, No. 164.

.The V.G.A.M. club's first tour of Great Britain was under the aegis of Princess Margaret, according to 'Théâtre-Sports', March 1967, No. 164.

See also

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References

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Bibliography

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