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Origin and history

The castle of Chaillou stands on the commune of Châtillon-sur-Indre, on the edge of Villedômain, in the department of Indre. Its current architecture, marked by two square wings surmounted by skylights, dates mainly from the seventeenth century. However, older elements remain, such as two pepper towers and a facade pierced with Renaissance windows, testimonies of a medieval and reborn past.

Originally called "The Pruneaux", the estate belonged to the 16th century family of Sorbiers, a powerful seigneurial lineage of the region. In 1547, René de Sorbiers, squire, paid tribute to King Henry II for this seigneury. A century later, the castle passed into the hands of the Amelot de Chaillou family, which gave it its present name and established a dynasty of magistrates and ministers. In 1782 Antoine-Jean Amelot even obtained the erection of his baronie as a marquisate under the name of Chaillou.

At the beginning of the 19th century, in 1809, the castle was acquired by Philippe Robin de La Cotardière, already owner of the nearby castle of Saint-Cyran-du-Jambot. Since then, he has remained in the same family and, although classified as one of the remarkable castles of Indre, he is not accessible to the public, thus preserving his historical privacy.

The site preserves traces of its architectural evolution, mixing old defensive structures (powder towers) with a classic 17th century facade. These successive strata illustrate the social and political transformations of the region, from medieval seigneuries to the Old Regime and beyond.

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