Château de Touteville: A Historic Estate in Asnières-sur-Oise, France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- French
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Elite Residence
On this page6 sections
History
Château de Touteville is a historic château in Asnières-sur-Oise, France, whose present fabric dates principally from the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries and stands over thirteenth-century cellars and foundations. It succeeded an earlier château of unknown origins. Formerly known as Château d’Estouville, its name is believed to derive from estoc.
A fief of Royaumont Abbey
By the middle of the sixteenth century, Touteville had become the center of a fief belonging to Royaumont Abbey. A fief was a territorial holding governed by feudal rights and obligations. Royaumont Abbey was a former Cistercian monastery in northern France. The first holders of the Touteville fief were M. de la Porte and M. Binot.
The estate before and after the Revolution
At the time of the French Revolution, the seigneur of Touteville was Gabriel Choart, president of the Cour des aides, a sovereign court of the French monarchy concerned chiefly with taxation and related legal disputes. The Countess de Kerkado, who belonged to the Saulx-Tavannes family, had the park’s ponds and other water features laid out.
Château de Touteville was listed as a historic monument in 1990. Its medieval cellar received the stronger classification as a historic monument in 1992. The château remains privately owned, while much of its former garden has become a public park shared by Asnières-sur-Oise and Viarmes.
Remains
The château and medieval cellar
The surviving château combines a structure erected over thirteenth-century foundations and cellars with fabric dating mainly from the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Its façades have limited architectural distinction, while the interior contains a notable staircase and painted decorations. Beneath the building, a large underground hall from the thirteenth century survives in very good condition.
The main north and south façades are only partly visible from the street. From public land, the west lateral wall is visible.
The former garden
The former château grounds include an English-style garden with ponds and other water features. Approximately 80 percent of the garden’s area is now incorporated into the municipal Touteville Park, which is shared by Asnières-sur-Oise and Viarmes.
Nearby sites
