Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The château du Jonchay, located in the valley of the Saône in Anse (the Rhône department), replaces a much older building. The current building, dating from the 17th century, features a rectangular plan flanked by two square turrets, with a main façade rhythmized by seven regular spans. The walls, built in blockade and recrepis in the 19th century, support a two-sided roof hidden by a balustrade. A quadrangular dovecote, covered with tiles in scale, completes the architectural ensemble to the southwest.

The estate derives its name from its original environment, probably swampy and covered with rushes, fed by the Brienne source. As early as 1240, he was mentioned as attached to the fief of Brienne under the term Junchetum de Brionna. In 1319, the officer of Anse received the tribute for this fief. The first identified seigneur, Jean Richard de Saint-Priest, appeared in 1326, followed by Offroy de Lanay in 1381, and Mathieu de Vauzelles, who married Françoise de Guilhens in 1584.

In the 18th century, the castle changed hands several times: Antoine de Raymondis acquired it in 1701 and passed it on to his daughter, wife of Philippe de Paradis. In 1782 Dieudonné Sarton, who became Sarton du Jonchay after naturalization, bought the estate and added a prestigious office in Lyon. The line continues with his son Charles, then Gaston, whose descendant Médéric married Gabrielle Gillet of Valbreuse in 1864. Finally, in 1889, Paul Claret de Fleurieu married Marie Antoinette Sarton du Jonchay, the last heiress mentioned.

The coat of arms of successive families — Saint-Priest, de Vauzeles, Sarton du Jonchay and Claret de Fleurieu — bear witness to their nobility. Their currencies, such as Sub umbra alarum tuarum protect our (de Vauzelles) or Claret, non nocet (Claret de Fleurieu), reflect their values. Today, the castle remains a private property, closed to the public.

Historical sources cite the Dictionnaire de la Noblesse (1774) and the book Châteaux et maisons bourgeoises dans le Rhône (1980), confirming its anchoring in the rhônalpin heritage. The farm buildings, organised around an inner courtyard, underline its past role as agricultural and seigneurial estate.

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