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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Château du Moulin was built between 1480 and 1501 for Philippe du Moulin, a close to Charles VIII, by the architect Jacques de Persigny. This seigneurial mansion, erected in red and black bricks with stone edges, adopts a rectangular plan girded with moat. Although its appearance evokes a strong castle, its vocation was more symbolic, reflecting the social status of its owner, than truly defensive. The courtyard, once closed with high walls, housed buildings organized around a main house including a chapel and a vaulted kitchen.

Philippe du Moulin, anointed by Charles VIII after saving his life at the Battle of Fornoue in 1495, commissioned this castle to display his new nobility. The access was provided by an entrance châtelet flanked by towers and preceded by a drawbridge, topped by chambers, one of which preserved murals. Only one of the four corner towers of the enclosure remains today, while the garden, redesigned in the 20th century, houses a strawberry conservatory and a wrought iron well.

Ranked as a Historic Monument in 1926 and 1927, the castle was used as a setting for several film and television productions, such as Jean Epstein's Mauprat (1926) and Thierry la Fronde's 1960s series. Closed to the public since 2020 and put on sale, however, there remains a remarkable example of the transition architecture between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, marked by notable restorations, including that of 1947 by architect Pierre Chauvallon.

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