Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The domaine de la Forêt, located in Roullet-Saint-Estèphe in Charente, is an architectural complex from the 1st quarter of the 19th century. It consists of a farm, a house that was used as a home for the hunting grounds of Fontfroide Castle, and a park along National Road 10, an old 18th century royal road. The domain also functioned as a post relay, reflecting its role in the movements of the time.

In the 19th century, the estate was acquired by Mr Dougny, Prefect of Charente under Charles X. The latter would have composed the garden and turned the place into a resort residence for prefects under Charles X and Louis-Philippe. At this time, architectural elements of St. Peter's Cathedral in Angoulême, restored by Paul Abadie, were deposited in the park, including a column capital.

On December 11, 1992, the garden, including its fences, gates, niches and basin, was protected by an inscription to historical monuments, because of its heritage and landscape value. The estate, still private, preserves traces of its history, such as a stone cave and a staircase carved in the rock, as well as hedges of carved boxwood. It is not open to the public.

The park is organized into four distinct spaces: a meadow and a courtyard to the south, a wood to the northwest, and a vegetable garden to the northeast. The house, built in the early nineteenth century, is covered with canal tiles and faces south. These elements illustrate the harmony between rural and landscaped architecture of the time.

The estate is linked to the Forêt de Chardin, formerly owned by Fontfroide Castle, a hunting site frequented by Francis I in the 16th century. This historical context underscores the importance of forests and secondary residences in the aristocratic and administrative life of the region, from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

External links