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Origin and history

The castle of Bazoches-sur-Vesles, located in the present municipality of Bazoches-et-Saint-Thibaut (Aisne, Hauts-de-France), is an ancient castle dating back to the 13th century. Its remains, partially listed as historical monuments in 1927, bear witness to a medieval military architecture marked by a limestone enclosure flanked by round towers. The ancient excavations and texts reveal vaulted cellars and a geminied window, the only remains of the original house.

Originally, the seigneury of Bazoches belonged to the archbishops of Reims, who gave it to the bishops of Soissons before the ninth century. In the 10th century, it passed to the house of Châtillon, then to the lineage of the Bazoches, vassal of the archbishops. In the 13th century, three bishops of Soissons came from them, including Jacques de Bazoches, who received the homage in 1232. The castle, occupied by its lords until the 15th century, suffered destruction during the conflicts between Armagnacs and Bourguignons, especially in 1417, when it was resumed after being "set to destruction" by the Armagnacs.

The wars and divisions of the kingdom left the castle in ruins as early as 1428, as evidenced by an agreement between Isabelle de Châlons, the last heiress of the Bazoches, and the chapter of Soissons. Degraded in 1858 by a farmer, it was definitely destroyed in 1918 during World War I. Today, only the remains of the enclosure, with their archeries and towers, recall its medieval fortress past linked to the feudal history of Picardia.

Archaeological and historical sources, such as the works of André Du Chesne (1621) or the bulletins of the Soissons Society, document its evolution. The site, classified for its remains, offers a characteristic example of the castles forts, marked by the conflicts and seigneurial recompositions of the Middle Ages.

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