Château de Vaujours

The Château de Vaujours is a ruined castle from the 12th and 15th centuries, located in the commune of Château-la-Vallière in the Indre-et-Loire département of central France. It was part of the seigneurie (manor) of Chasteaux-en-Anjou, the future Château-la-Vallière.

Location

The castle is located 3 kilometres south of Château-la-Vallière. It stands on the eastern border of the ancient Haut-Anjou, part of the former province of Anjou.

History

Arms of Château-la-Vallière

Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours

The fiefdom of Vaujours was a dependancy of the sénéchaussée (bailiwick) of Baugé and the diocese of Angers. Hugues I d'Alluye, living in 978, is the earliest known lord. The castle of the barons of Chasteaux was built to defend the territory of Anjou.

Construction of the castle can be attributed to Hugues VI d'Alluye or to Rotron of Montfort, around 1250^[1].

During the Hundred Years War, the fortress was never taken by the English. A major restoration was undertaken in the 15th century. Jean V de Bueil, nicknamed «le Fléau des Anglais» {the flail of the English), altered the defences such that they became impenetratable. He later died there, in 1477.

Louis XI stayed there during his visits to Anjou.

The daughter of Charles VII and Agnès Sorel, Jeanne de Valois, married Antoine de Bueil, son of Jean V de Bueil.

Under the Ancien Régime, the castle was bought by Louis XIV in 1666 and given in 1667 to his former mistress, Mademoiselle Louise de la Vallière; she became Duchesse de La Vallière et de Vaujours.

In the 18th century, Louise de la Vallière left the castle and bequeathed it to the Davot family, who occupied the castle for a long period. The castle was abandoned during the French Revolution. In 1815, it was sold to Thomas Stanhope-Holland who used it as a quarry.

The site was added to the list of monuments historiques on 24 October 1944, and the ruins were classified on 26 January 1989.^[1].

The site and castle are private property.

Architecture

The castle ruins stand in the valley of the Fare, south of Château-la-Vallière, close to the hamlet of Vaujours.

The castle, of typical military architecture, stands on a mound in the middle of a lake whose waters feed the moats which surround it. It is formed of two fortresses: a bailey to the west and the castle to the east.

The entry to the double enceinte is defended by two cylindrical towers and a flying bridge, flanked to the north by a bastion. A drawbridge and a posternflanked by a cylindrical tower to the north provide access to the courtyard. The residence is to the south, the ruins of the chapel to the north. To the east, the towers give access to a covered chemin de ronde and to the south the bastion connected to the fortress and a further building.

Inside the fortress the keep still exists, as well as the lower courtyard. The enceinte includes several towers, some of which have rustication. The moats are, today, dried up and invaded by vegetation. The ruins have been cleared of vegetation and are surrounded by lawns and hedges

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Ministry of Culture Mérimée database Ruines du château de Vaujours

This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.

See also

• List of castles in France

External links

• Ministry of Culture listing and photo (French)
• Le château de Vaujours on Petit-Patrimoine website (French)
• Ecological description of the site, with map (French)
• Description and map of the Château de Vaujours at Touraine Insolite forum (French)

This castle-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Coordinates: 47°31′40″N 0°20′50″E / 47.52778°N 0.34722°E / 47.52778; 0.34722 Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу Château de Vaugoubert Vianden Castle Look at other dictionaries: Château de Vaujours —  Pour l’article homonyme, voir Vaujours.  Château de Vaujours Type Château fort Début construction XIIe siècle Fin construction XVe siècle …   Wikipédia en Français Chateau-la-Valliere — Château la Vallière Château la Vallière Administration Pays France Région Nom de région ou de collectivité mal rédigé ou absent pour en savoir plus cliquez ici ou pour l outre mer cliquez ici. Par défaut, la carte de géolocalisation est celle de… …   Wikipédia en Français Château-en-Anjou — Château la Vallière Château la Vallière Administration Pays France Région Nom de région ou de collectivité mal rédigé ou absent pour en savoir plus cliquez ici ou pour l outre mer cliquez ici. Par défaut, la carte de géolocalisation est celle de… …   Wikipédia en Français Château-la-Vallière — Château la Vallière …   Wikipedia Château des Sept Tours — Période ou style Néogothique Début construction XVe siècle Fin construction XIXe siècle Site web [Site officiel Site officiel] Coordonnées …   Wikipédia en Français Vaujours —  Pour l’article homonyme, voir Château de Vaujours.  48° 56′ 00″ N 2° 34′ 00″ E …   Wikipédia en Français Château-la-Vallière — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Château (homonymie). 47° 32′ 52″ N 0° 19′ 33″ E …   Wikipédia en Français Château de La Vallière — Le bâtiment du XVIe siècle Type Logis seigneurial Architecte Inconnu Début construction …   Wikipédia en Français Liste des châteaux de la région Centre — Château d Amboise Châtea …   Wikipédia en Français Itinéraires du roi Louis XI de 1461 à 1483 — Louis XI est un roi de France particulier. Sauf quelques longs séjours exceptionnels, il se déplaçait toujours jusqu à sa mort, dans l Hexagone de nos jours, hormis la Bretagne indépendante et la Provence d Anjou. En effet, il savait bien que le… …   Wikipédia en Français 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”