fete mecanique ancienne

Welcome to Lesterps,

a small commune in the Charente in South West France. The name is pronounced “layters” in the occitan dialect. Lesterps has a population of around 480 people. It is situated 9 kms from Confolens, 42 kilometers from Limoges and 63 kilometers from the capital of the department, Angouleme. It is about 4 hours motorway drive from Paris and about half an hour from the international airport of Bellegarde, Limoges, where regular flights are made by Flybe, Ryanair, Air France and others.

Lesterps is situated in a very beautiful rural area of France and is dominated by the 12^th century “Abbatiale Saint – Pierre” classified in 1862 with a belfry of 43 metres high.

Once a year, Mr. P'tite Louis organised one of the areas most important historical events

“

La Fête de la Mécanique Ancienne et des Battages

”

The old machine fair in the summer ( the second weekend in June) is dedicated to all old farm machinery and equipment. Tractors, ploughs, grass cutters, harvesters, carts, horses, hand tools and the different trades.

This web site is a record of some of the exhibits, and vidoes of live demonstrations of the old equipment, and for this reason, the website will be continually updated on a yearly basis!

The fair lasts for a whole weekend, has very many exhibits, and visitors come  from far and wide.

Also, once a year there is staged a most important musical event shortly after the Fete Mecanique Ancienne featuring the music of accordions, possibly the most evocative of all French music.

Please visit our galleries and the Fete mecanique ancienne this year. As soon as I have details I will post them on this page. Please send questions to me about the fair, if you want.

Eric Hallam

Charente , France, April, 2012

Additional information can be had from the organizing committee at:

http://comitefeteslesterps.free.fr

Lesterps 2006

 This site is only available in English at the moment, but will be fully translated into French as soon as possible.

(Volunteers wanted!)

webmaster

La Fête de la Mécanique Ancienne et des Battages.