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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The château de la Brêche, mentioned in 1475 as a fief under the Ile-Bouchard, was originally a seigneurial manor made of cut stone (tufeau), surrounded by moat and equipped with a circular tower transformed into a pigeon tree. This 15th-century house, heavily redesigned in the 17th century, preserves defensive elements such as a meneau bay and a cloded larmis, as well as a triangular pediment dormant. The outbuildings, including a 17th-century barn typical of Touraine, complete this medieval ensemble.

At the beginning of the 19th century, under the Restoration, Jacques Louis de Fadate de Saint-Georges and his wife built a new neo-classical castle, four-storey, with an interior Empire decoration (pompeian lounges, gold and white furniture). This hunting relay, enlarged in 1913 by architect Hardion with lateral wings and balustrades from Vitry Castle, houses the furniture of Count Dubois, Napoleon's first police prefect. The stables, the kennel and the guardian's house also date from the 19th century.

The site has been partially listed as Historic Monuments since 1984, protecting the façades, roofs, moats and barn of the seventeenth century. Empire furniture, sold in the 1980s to Belgian collectors, showed its past prestige. The martelé iron grilles and terraced or slate roofs illustrate the architectural evolution of the estate, between medieval heritage and modern transformations.

The cadastre of 1832 reveals an old house body that is now gone, replaced by the present castle. The corner turret, rebuilt in 1913 but retaining an original cul-de-lampe, and the still visible moats recall its defensive past. The estate, typical of the tourist fief, thus combines seigneurial history, aristocratic hunting and agricultural heritage, reflecting the social changes of the region from the 15th to the 19th century.

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