Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Jambville Castle, located in the Yvelines, has its origins between the 15th and 18th centuries, built on the foundations of an ancient medieval castle. In 1250 Richard de Jambville, squire of Saint Louis, was linked to the seigneury. In the 17th century, Antoine Le Camus became its owner, followed in 1769 by the Marquis Charles-Claude-François du Tillet, colonel of the Royal regiment. The Mausson family, including Étienne Thomas Mausson (master of petitions and intendant of Rouen), acquired the castle in 1775 and transformed it deeply: enlargement, addition of frontons, and replacement of the French garden with an English park adorned with follies such as a Greek temple or a pond in the Faisans.

In 1789 Thomas de Mausson, deputy of the nobility to the General States, was guillotined in 1794 for conspiracy. The castle, sold as a national property, was bought in 1816 by Baron Antoine Adolphe Thomas de Mausson. In the 20th century, he passed into the hands of Paul Fould (1904), then by André Manassé (1927), who hosted the film L'Abbé Constantin in 1933. Since 1952, it has been home to the Centre national de formation des Scouts et Guides de France, hosting training and gatherings such as the Frat (12,000 young people every two years).

Architecturally, the castle is distinguished by its 18th century commons, its 19th century orangery, and its 13th century vaulted cellars. The 52-hectare park, with its linden driveway and madness, has been listed as a historic monument since 1994 and 2010. The Greek temple (1775), decorated with a Gaulish tomb cover, once served as a cooler. The site, a private property, remains an emblematic place of French Scouting, combining historical heritage and educational activities.

Highlights include Scout Jamboree (1975, 1985, 1997), the proclamation of the Scouts of France Charter in 1983, and recent gatherings such as Connecte (2019, 20,000 participants). The castle thus illustrates a transition between aristocratic residence, well national, and contemporary educational center.

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