The village of Grand-Manil

The name Manil indicates that the site was once home to a manse, a farm attached to a villa, or large agricultural estate. The name "Grand" distinguishes it from Manil in Sauvenière, which is described as "petit".
The inhabitants are called Maniciens.

Traditionally, this cultivated land was devoted to escurgeon, which provided malt for brewing. Today, wheat and beet are widely grown. The village is home to several large farms. The Bédauwe farm was also a mill, but its millstream has now been filled in. The Penteville farm overlooks the old Gatte inn. In the field opposite, the Penteville tumulus has yielded Gallo-Roman artefacts. We're standing on the edge of the Roman road from Bavay to Cologne. A poultry farm is located along this road. On the way down to the village, the Moha chapel, already attested in 1543, was dedicated to Notre-Dame du Rosaire de Moha (near Huy).

The château and tower farm once belonged to Baron de Staël-Holstein, husband of writer Madame de Staël, but it seems they never set foot in Grand-Manil. Apart from the tower dating from the 12th or 13th century and the chapelle castrale, the buildings as we see them date from the renovation and enlargement of the 19th century. Over the years, they have served not only as a private residence, but also as a boarding school for girls and a hotel-restaurant. The park was amputated to make way for a housing estate. Today, the farmhouse houses a veterinary clinic.

Several industries once thrived here, all of which have now disappeared: a rope factory, a brickworks and a plastics factory. The village is home to a provincial horticultural school.

Source: Cercle royal 'Art et Histoire' de Gembloux.