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Origin and history

The Château de la Chassagne, located in the commune of Saint-Hilaire-le-Château (Creuse), originates in an ancient medieval fortress. Its name derives from the Gallo-Roman cassanea, meaning "chênaie", and was called Chassaigne in the Middle Ages. This site was a major seigneury with rights of justice (high, medium and low), covering four parishes of the Poitevin enclave of Bourganeuf: Saint-Hilaire-le-Château, La Pouge, Soubrebost and Vidaillat. In the 16th century, the estate consisted of two mills, four ponds and three farmhouses, and was still owned by Michel de la Chassagne, the last lord bearing this surname.

In 1544 Louise de la Chassagne, the daughter of Michel, married Pierre de Saint-Julien, thus transmitting the seigneury to this family. Their descendant, Anne de Saint-Julien, married Philibert de la Roche Aymon, nicknamed "the great devil", who had his wife murdered around 1640. Their daughter, Marie Suzanne, brought the Chassagne in dowry to Renaud de Malleret. The estate then passed to the Tixier and Dubois de Belair families, of which Louis (1910–2012) worked on its restoration. The castle, surrounded by a park of five hectares, was converted into a guest house in 2013.

Architecturally, the castle lost its defensive elements (shaped, drawbridge, moat) mentioned in a burrow of 1576. It overlooks the right bank of the Thaurion, close to Pontarion Castle. His history reflected the alliances and tragedies of the local noble families, from the Middle Ages to the Revolution, where Jean-Baptiste-Louis de Malleret, the last Marquis, died in emigration after being a member of the General States of 1789.

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