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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Bretagne
  4. Ille-et-Vilaine
  5. 35133 Le Châtellier

  6. Château de la Vieuville

 Château de la Vieuville au Châtellier en Ille-et-Vilaine

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château
Ille-et-Vilaine

Château de la Vieuville

    D798
    35133 Le Châtellier
Château de Vieuville
Château de la Vieuville
Château de la Vieuville
Crédit photo : GO69 - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1800
1900
2000
1825
Degraded manor condition
1869
Construction of the new castle
1876
Installation of the hydraulic ram
1892
Construction of greenhouses
19 septembre 2013
Registration for Historic Monuments
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The Château de la Vieuville, namely: the house of the 19th century for its facades and roofs and its vestibule, its interior staircase, its dining room, its large living room, its small living room, its office-library located in a turret, its first floor bedroom with its 17th century décor; 19th century communes for their facades and roofs; the vegetable garden for its fence and plate floor; greenhouses; the former mansion for its facades and roofs; the landscaped park with its parts of water and hydraulic structures (fontaine, ram, etc.); the gate, the adjoining fence walls and the wrought iron gate of the former hotel Le Harivel located at the entrance of the avenue (Box B 532-534, 561-565, 580-595, 597-601, 792-794; C 203-205, 209, 210, 763, 764): registration by order of 19 September 2013

Key figures

Saturnin Le Mercier des Alleux - Owner and sponsor The castle was built in 1869.
Jacques Mellet - Architect Designs the castle and other local buildings.
Joseph Michel de Montgolfier - Hydraulic ram inventor Inspiration for the 1876 system.
Aristide Tourneux - Architect (project not completed) Manor restoration plans (not executed).

Origin and history

The Château de la Vieuville, located in the commune of Châtellier in Ille-et-Vilaine (Bretagne), consists of a former mansion of the 16th and 17th centuries and a neo-Gothic castle built in the 19th century. The latter, called "new castle", was built in 1869 by architect Jacques Mellet for Saturnin Le Mercier des Alleux, heir to the estate. The castle adopts a symmetrical composition with a rectangular central body flanked by circular and square towers, and incorporates decorative elements from the original mansion, such as woodwork or tapestries.

The estate extends around a landscaped park renovated in the 19th century, including a pond fed by a hydraulic ram dated 1876, an invention inspired by Joseph Michel de Montgolfier. The greenhouses, built in 1892 by Bergerot establishments, as well as communes and a vegetable garden complete the whole. The castle was the subject of two inscriptions to the Historical Monuments: a first in 1946 for certain parts, then an extension in 2013 covering the house, the communes, the park, and elements such as the gate and the wrought iron gate, coming from an 18th century hotel destroyed in Fougères.

The architect Jacques Mellet, already active in the commune for the construction of the church (1849-1853) and of a funeral chapel, designed the castle in a sober neo-Gothic style, contrasting with other local buildings such as the castle of the Folletière (neo-classical) or that of Fretay (style " Troubadour"). The original project may have provided for the restoration of the old manor house, in poor condition by 1825, but Saturnin Le Mercier des Alleux opted for a new construction, employing elements of the manor house (parquets, skylights, woodwork). The interior plans of 1922 reveal a typical organization of bourgeois mansions of the time, with distinct spaces for servants and owners.

The castle illustrates 19th century architectural eclecticism in Brittany, where landowners modernized their estates by integrating technical innovations (such as the hydraulic ram) and various styles. Its history also reflects the social and economic transformations of the region, marked by the legacy of noble families and the emergence of an influential rural bourgeoisie. Today, the site remains a testament to the artisanal know-how and lifestyles of the Breton aristocracy in the 18th and 19th centuries.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum