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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Laleu mansion, located in Chouzy-sur-Cisse in the Loir-et-Cher, was originally an outbuilding of the abbey of Marmoutier, inhabited by monks from the fourteenth century. In 1325, Jean de Mauléon noted in a report that the three resident monks neglected the Matutin offices, but that the buildings, lands and vineyards were well maintained, with sufficient reserves of wheat and wine. The estate, surrounded by two round towers and equipped with a chapel with gargoyles, preserves architectural elements of the 15th century, although modifications in the 18th century altered some medieval structures, such as the demolition of towers and windows.

A local tradition, not confirmed by archives, evokes a possible stay of Jeanne d'Arc in the mansion on the night of 24-25 April 1429, on his journey between Amboise and Blois. In the 16th century, the seigneury came into command (secular management), then was exploited by bourgeois farmers or notaries in the 18th century. In 1780 Antoine-Jean Rattier, the future mayor of Chouzy, acquired the estate at auction before reselling it in 1813 to the Meusnier family, which rebuilt the historic vineyard between 1894 and 1939. The mansion, classified as a historical monument in 1937, also inspired Léon Daudet for his novel Un amour de Rabelais (1933).

Today, private property and closed to the public, the mansion retains a house, a chapel, a porch and traces of its monastic and wine-growing past. Its inscription in the inventory of historical monuments in 1937 underscores its heritage importance, linked to the religious and agricultural history of the region. The sources also mention protected elements such as the chapel and the house, while its exact location (11 Chemin de Laleu) is documented in the Merimée base.

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