A bit of history about the farmhouse and its surroundings.
In the Gausac valley, a setting full of history and where the human footprint of the past is very present, we come across the Can Borrell farmhouse just when the valley opens up to the plains of Vallès. Some time ago the valley had owners, Bertran d’Esplugues and his wife Berenguera de Cercedol, who sold it in 1272 to Bernat de Palou.
The medieval era was of great importance in Catalonia. Catalan society became one of the most complete models of feudal hierarchy. This results in this period being probably one of the most explanatory enabling us to understand present times in the area where Can Borrell is found. An area rich in architectural, archaeological, historic and scenic heritage. All of these patrimonial riches help us understand the present remembering the past, a not so distant past.
What happened in the Gausac Valley?
In this area, not too far from here, there was a time when a town called Cercedol existed. During the first half of the XI century, the union of this town, with the “alou” properties that surrounded the San Cugat Monastery, and the valley of Gausac, among other properties, formed what we now know as the district of Sant Cugat, known in earlier times as Octavià castle (Castrum Octavianum). This last word is what initially gave name to the district, but it has been used less and less since the XIII century and ended up being used more in relation to the feudal castle, the words Sant Cugat were used referring to the surrounding area, as we know it today.
It seems that the Gausac valley was under the authority of the Sant Vicenç de Cercedol parish belonging to the aforementioned town of Cercedol, although the lack of documents don’t clearly confirm this. What does seem more probable is the existence of a parish named Sta. Maria de Gausac, which is first documented in the year 1201 and subsequently in 1272, in the papal bull of Calixte II. In fact, in the times of la Quadra de Vilanova, the place where this Quadra gathered was not in St. Vicenç de Cercedol, but in Sta. Maria de Gausac, which later on would be called Sta. Maria del Bosc and is currently the Ermita de Sant Adjutori, situated very near Can Borrell
Nota: Definitions from the Diccionari de la llengua catalana from Institut d’Estudis Catalans. 1995 Edition.