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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Château de Courcelles-le-Roy is a monument located in the Loiret, in Beaulieu-sur-Loire, in the Centre-Val de Loire region. It is distinguished by its architecture organized around a quadrilateral, with three building bodies surrounding an inner courtyard. The south-west facade, dating from the 17th century, is flanked by towers added to the 19th century, while the chapel, erected at the end of the 18th century, completes the whole. The estate spans 280 hectares, including communes and a dovecote listed in the Historic Monuments since 1986.

According to sources after the First World War, Charles VII and Agnès Sorel were temporarily resident in the castle, although this claim remains to be confirmed by archival documents. In 1788, the castle was represented in a painting by Pierre Royer, now preserved at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. The main body of the building, abandoned, contrasts with the maintenance of the communes and the estate, demonstrating a differentiated management of the heritage.

The castle had several notable owners, including Florent Carton dit Dancourt (died 1725), whose family retained the estate until the marriage of Louise-Alexandrine de Guibert with Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte de Guibert around 1788. In the 19th century he passed into the hands of Marshal Étienne Jacques Joseph Macdonald (1803-1840), then of his descendants, including Fergus Macdonald, born at the castle in 1854. During the Second World War, he served as a shelter for children. Since 2015, François Aubrun has been its owner.

Architecturally, the castle combines elements from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The south-west facade, typical of the seventeenth century, is framed by winged towers, added in the nineteenth century, although those of the southeast were demolished in the twentieth century. The central "chestlet", probably redesigned in the 19th century, and the chapel of the late 18th century illustrate this superimposition of styles. The outbuildings, including stables, lantern dovecote and barn, complete this heritage complex.

The dovecote, the only element listed as a historical monument since September 17, 1986, symbolizes the past importance of this seigneurial domain. Although the castle is not systematically open to the visit, its history reflects the architectural and social evolutions of the region, from Berry to the Loire Valley, as well as the varied uses of this type of monument, ranging from the aristocratic residence to temporary accommodation in times of crisis.

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