Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de la Belouse, mentioned in a 1331 censier of Nevers chapter, is an ancient building whose first written traces date back to the Middle Ages. This document attests to its existence and local importance from that time, although its appearance or precise function is not detailed in the available sources.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the castle was associated with the Le Bourgoing and then Gascoing families. A handwritten genealogy of the eighteenth century reveals that Claude Gascoing and his father Gérard, owners of the estate, call themselves "squires", a title probably linked to the seigneury of the Belous. This status seemed to disappear over the generations, as François Gascoing testified, who no longer claimed this title in his marriage contract in 1698.

In the middle of the 17th century, the family of Bèze, already owner of the Forge Basse near Guérigny, developed on the estate a forge and a furnace, exploiting the stream of Chaillant. These industrial installations partially transform the site's vocation, which becomes a place of production of iron. The forge produces up to 150 tons per year, while the furnace reaches 400 tons.

Towards the end of the 18th century, the estate was divided and sold: the Andras de Marcy family operated the furnace until 1850, while Berthier-Bizy's family ran the forge until 1822, the date of the death of Berthier-Bizy's count. The estate was then acquired by Louis-Aignan Théodore Breton, marking the end of this industrial and seigneurial period.

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