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Origin and history

The Château de la Motte Fénelon, located in Cambrai in the department of the North, was built around 1850 by the Parisian architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff for Alphonse Brabant de Leau, a whitewasher manufacturer. The marshland required foundations on oak stilts and solesmes grey stone basements. Its architecture combines a rustically bossed ground floor with curved bays and a first floor with rectangular openings, preserving original walling designed by Hittorff.

The castle, originally named castle of Morenchies, became the castle of the Motte Saint Pierre after the marriage of Anne Brabant with Guy de la Motte Saint Pierre. During the wars, it was occupied by the Germans in 1914-1918 (a concrete shelter was installed in the cellars) and in 1940-1945 (theft of hunting trophies). Damaged and abandoned after 1945, its 8-hectare park, once wooded, was invaded by wild vegetation.

Purchased in 1962 by the Maison Familiale group, the castle was restored in 1973 in accordance with its original architecture, with the creation of an orangery in the old stables. It became a seminar centre and a star hotel in 1991, and now houses the gourmet restaurant Les Douves in its vaulted cellars. Since 2010, successive renovations have preserved her legacy, under the direction of Marie-Anne Delevallée, also Mayor of Cambrai.

The castle is remarkable for its materials (white stone of Creil, local bricks) and its interior features still visible, such as painted ceilings. Although spared by the bombings of 1918, he bore traces of military occupation. Ranked among the châteaux of Hauts-de-France, it is part of the industrial and aristocratic heritage of the 19th century, linked to the development of local factories.

His present name, Motte Fénelon, pays tribute to Archbishop François de Salignac de la Mothe Fénelon, a historical figure of Cambrai, and to the former owners, the Motte Saint Pierre. The site, opened during Heritage Days, combines history, architecture and contemporary function, while focusing on the ethical preservation of its heritage.

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