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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Thorey-Lyautey Castle was built between 1920 and 1924 on the site of an old hunting lodge inherited by Marshal Lyautey of his aunt. This project followed the fire in 1914 of the family home of Lyautey in Crevic by the Germans during the First World War. Lyautey, refusing to rebuild in Crévic, entrusted the design of the new castle to architects Albert Laprade and Joachim Richard, inspired notably by the castle of Barante near Thiers.

The castle incorporates remarkable architectural elements, such as a monumental staircase designed to accommodate a ramp purchased at the Château de Vandeléville, attributed to Jean Lamour. It also houses a library, a Moroccan room and a Lorraine room decorated with Ducal portraits. Lyautey lived there from 1925 and died there in 1934. After his death, elements of his Marrakesh mausoleum, dismantled after independence from Morocco, were resettled in the park.

Ranked a historic monument in 1980 for its castle and statuary park, the site benefits from a restoration campaign launched in 2019 by the Heritage Foundation. The works, funded by donations, were inaugurated in 2022. Today, the castle is a museum dedicated to Marshal Lyautey, bearing the label Maison des Illustres and open to the public.

The farm, dating from the late 17th or early 18th century, originally belonged to Mademoiselle de Villemotte, sister of Lyautey's mother. It served as a hunting lodge before being integrated into the estate. The castle, on a square floor and a high floor, combines various roofs (mechanical tiles, slates, dome) and preserves personal memories of the Marshal.

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