Meet MSophie
Who welcomes you to this beautiful Creole residence steeped in history, where the Ozoux family have lived for several generations.
A journey back in time in the heights of Saint-Denis
A few kilometres from Saint-Denis city centre, the Beaubassin estate is a little jewel of Creole architecture. Sophie, our guide for the day, has opened the doors of this authentic house and its Creole garden for a fascinating and very agreeable visit. Through the history of the Mazérieux and Ozoux families, we learn a good deal more about the history of the island.
We’ve only just set foot on the property in the heights of Saint-François when we’re confronted with the Creole villa’s façade and its two elegant turrets. The journey back in time can begin. Sophie’s waiting for us in front of the spacious veranda and starts by telling us the story of the estate, which begins in the 19th century. At the time, the property was known as the Jardin du Mont Saint-François and was used as an acclimation garden by the famous botanist Nicolas Bréon, best-known for having laid out the Jardin de l’Etat botanical garden. This is why there are still a number of very rare flowers, such as the Bourbon rose, to be found in the magnificent garden that surrounds the house.
The house itself was built in the 1860s by Alfred Mazérieux. His son, Alfred junior, a former mayor of Saint-Denis, moved into it with his wife Euphrasie.Maurice Ozoux, Euphrasie’s cousin, purchased the family estate in 1948. “Mme Monique Ozoux, the present owner of the estate, discovered this house with her husband Cyril, who is Maurice Ozoux’s grandson”, Sophie tells us. “She immersed herself in her family-in-law’s history and when she and her husband came to live here in 2016, Mme Ozoux decided to organise these tours. She wanted as many people as possible to discover a place with so much history behind it”.
We start the tour in the living room, the first of the house’s eight rooms. I stop in front of a display case containing a cap, some books and some toys: treasures from another era, religiously preserved by the family. “All the items you see here belonged to the owners’ family and each one has a story to tell”, our guide says. We also come across family portraits and get acquainted with the estate’s former occupants thanks to Sophie’s anecdotes.
We then make our way to the kitchen, which is separate from the house, as was the tradition for several centuries on Reunion Island. “Mr and Mme Ozoux wanted to preserve a “house in the heights” aspect, because, historically, as the place was pretty remote, it had to have this “farm” part, with ducks and chickens”, Sophie continues. Behind the garden, there are also three hectares of forest, where the owner enjoys walking. “Mme Ozoux still has plenty of ideas on how to bring the estate alive and recapture the spirit of community life that has always been so important to the estate’s various owners”, our guide tells us. Hence, one of the outbuildings has become a home for senior citizens while another accommodates families with children, and Mme Ozoux has also created a guesthouse for cats near the henhouse.
The tour ends at the “Chamaille”, a pretty little bamboo straw and clay hut renovated in 2000, where there are a few more treasures awaiting us. “It was the children who chose the name, because they used to bicker [chamailler in French] there”, explains Sophie, who joins us with some homemade lemonade. These stories remind all of us of our childhood memories, and we continue with the discussion on the veranda and by the pool. An unforgettable moment of sharing in an outstanding setting.
