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Berlioz describes his grandfather’s house thus (Memoirs, Chapter 3):
My maternal grandfather, whose name (Marmion) is that of the famed warrior in Walter Scott, lived at Meylan, a village located about six miles from Grenoble, near the borders of Savoy. The village and its surrounding hamlets, the Isère valley stretching at their feet, and the mountains of Dauphiné which join there the lower Alps, all form one of the most romantic spots I have ever admired. Every year my mother, my sisters and myself would usually go there to spend three weeks towards the end of summer. My uncle (Félix Marmion), who at the time was following in the glorious steps of the great Emperor Napoleon, would sometimes come and join us.
Berlioz’s grandfather died on 30 December 1837 and was buried in the cemetery attached to the Eglise Saint-Victor in Meylan.
Nicolas Marmion’s house is located at No. 1, Chemin de la Ville, which runs straight down the hill, off the Chemin des Capucins. At the time the latest photos were taken (September 2009), the house had recently been redecorated.
All the photographs reproduced on this page were taken by Michel Austin in 2009 and Pepijn van Doesburg in 2003. © Pepijn van Doesburg and Michel Austin. The most recent pictures are presented first. All rights of reproduction reserved.
Nicolas Marmion’s house in pictures (2009)
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2009
This photo is taken from the Chemin des Capucins, looking down the Chemin de la Ville.
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2009
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2009
– the ancient entrance
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2009
View from further down the Chemin de la Ville; only the building on the left of the picture belongs to Nicolas Marmion’s house. The Belledonne range is in the background.
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2009
This view from the opposite direction, looking up the Chemin de la Ville, as is in the next photo. Mt Saint-Eynard, which dominates Haut Meylan, is in the background.
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2009
The church, cemetery and tomb of Nicolas Marmion (2009)
Eglise Saint-Victor in 2009
Eglise Saint-Victor is located towards the end of Chemin de l’Église, a little further up in Meylan in relation to Marmion’s house.
Eglise Saint-Victor and the cemetery in 2009
The Saint-Eynard is in the background.
Eglise Saint-Victor and the cemetery in 2009
General view of the cemetery in 2009
View from the same path as in the previous picture, but looking down towards the valley. Nicolas Marmion’s tomb is on the left of the above picture.
Nicolas Marmion’s tomb in 2009
Nicolas Marmion’s tomb in 2009
Nicolas Marmion’s tomb in 2009
Nicolas Marmion’s tomb in 2009
The text on the vertical head stone reads:
NICHOLAS MARMION /GRAND PÈRE MATERNEL DE / HECTOR BERLIOZ / NÉ LE 30 DÉCEMBRE 1751 / DÉCÉDÉ A MEYLAN / LE 6 MARS 1837
[NICHOLAS MARMION/ MATERNAL GRANDFATHER OF / HECTOR BERLIOZ/ BORN ON 30 DECEMBER 1751 / DIED IN MEYLAN / ON 6 MARCH 1837]
The text on the main horizontal stone reads:
ICI REPOSE / NICOLAS MARMION / NÉ LE 30 DÉCEMBRE 1751 / DÉCÉDÉ A MEYLAN / LE 6 MARS 1837 / UN DE PROFUNDIS
[HERE RESTS / NICOLAS MARMION / BORN ON 30 DECEMBER 1751 / DIED IN MEYLAN / ON 6 MARCH 1837 / A DE PROFUNDIS]
The text on the smaller horizontal stone at the bottom reads:
ICI REPOSE / LE GRAND PÈRE MATERNEL / D’HECTOR BERLIOZ
[HERE RESTS / THE MATERNAL GRANDFATHER / OF HECTOR BERLIOZ]
The main horizontal stone is clearly the oldest; there is no mention of a link with Berlioz in the text. The other two must have been installed later; the vertical stone is clearly meant to be more conspicuous, and the letters are more deeply engraved.
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2003
– view from the garden
The Belledonne range is in the background.
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2003
– view from the street
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2003
– view from the street
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2003
– view from the street
Nicolas Marmion’s house in 2003
– the ancient entrance
Nicolas Marmion’s tomb in 2003
Nicolas Marmion’s tomb in 2003
See also related pages:
The house of Madame Gautier, Estelle Fornier’s grandmother
The Saint Eynard
The Berlioz Monument
The Hector Berlioz Website was created by Monir Tayeb and Michel Austin on 18
July 1997;
The Berlioz in Meylan pages were created on 15 April 2004, and enlarged on 1 October 2009. Revised on 1 June 2023.
© Monir Tayeb and Michel Austin for the text and 2009 photos, and Pepijn van Doesburg for the 2003 photos on this page.
Back to main Berlioz in Meylan page