Château de Maisontiers: A Historic Château in France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- French
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
On this page9 sections
History
Château de Maisontiers is a historic château in France whose construction history extends from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century. Its origins are associated with a fief of the Knights Hospitaller, a religious and military order that maintained estates and fortified or administrative properties across medieval Europe, apparently established at Maisontiers by the thirteenth century.
Late medieval transformation
At the end of the fifteenth century, Claude de Montjehan, lady of Goulesne, acquired the existing buildings and remodelled them to create the château in its present form. She later sold the property on 21 May 1544 to Guyonne Bernard, lady of La Bernardière. Bernard was the wife of René de Tusseau, a squire, meaning a member of the lesser nobility, and lord of La Millanchère.
Family ownership and the Revolution
The Tusseau family owned the château from 1544 until 1792. During the French Revolution, a period of political upheaval that began in 1789 and ended the old monarchical order, the property became a national property from 1792 to 1797. This meant that it was confiscated and placed under state ownership.
After 1797, ownership passed successively to the Gaullier de Senermont family, from 1797 to 1886; the Rambaud family, from 1886 to 1902; the Wissocq family, from 1902 to 1996; and the Macé de Lépinay family from 1996. Apart from the revolutionary period, the château has remained with families related to the Tusseau family since 1544. It is privately owned today.
Heritage protection
The château was partially listed as a historic monument on 28 November 1957, with protection for its façades, roofs, and moats. The château and estate were listed in their entirety on 8 November 2005. On 10 December 2013, the château, its moats, and certain parcels of the estate were classified as historic monuments. In France, listing and classification provide legal heritage protection, with classification representing the higher level of protection.
Remains
Setting and water features
Château de Maisontiers stands east of the village of Maisontiers, between Departmental Road 137, where its entrance is located, and the Taconnière stream. Its most distinctive physical feature is the surrounding system of moats. Along the north-eastern side, the moats extend for approximately 110 metres and reach about 40 metres in width.
Buildings
West wing
The west wing is the oldest part of the complex. Claude de Montjehan remodelled it at the end of the fifteenth century as part of the transformation of the earlier buildings into the château that survives as the core of the estate.
Stable
The stable is the most recent part of the complex and dates from the nineteenth century. Its later construction reflects the continued development of the estate after the medieval and early modern phases represented by the château itself.
Nearby sites
