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Origin and history

The Château de Reverseaux, located in the present municipality of the Vovéan Villages (formerly Rouuvray-Saint-Florentin, Eure-et-Loir), has its origins in an estate acquired by the Guéau family since the 15th century. Passed by inheritance, he passed on to Jacques Guéau, merchant cartrage in the 16th century, then to his son Cardin Guéau. After several successions, Geneviève Guéau, the last direct heir, married Christin de Gravelle in the 17th century. Their son, Marin de Gravelle, ecclesiastical and chaplain to the king, left the estate in 1717 to his nephew Philippe Guéau, under condition of transmission by male primogeniture and adoption of the name Gravelle.

The construction of the present castle began under Jacques-Étienne Guéau de Gravelle de Reverseaux (1706–53), a lawyer and secretary to the king, who inherited the estate in 1725. Thanks to his marriage to Marie-Angélique Le Noir, daughter of a senior royal official, he financed ambitious works between 1725 and 1753, razing the old buildings to build a Louis XV style residence. His son, Jean-Jacques-Philippe-Isaique, completed the arrangements and obtained the title of Marquis de Reverseaux in 1766. The architecture is distinguished by an honorary courtyard framed by Louis XIII pavilions, moats, and a south facade decorated with pilasters and a rounded pediment.

In 1807, Marshal Laurent de Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, Minister of War under Louis XVIII, acquired the castle and withdrew there from 1819 until his death in 1830. The estate, still owned by its descendants, has preserved protected elements since 1966: facades, roofs, moats, interior woodwork (large living room, library) and the park. Although not open to the public, it remains linked to personalities such as Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, whose family is related to the current owners.

The building combines decorative motifs from the reigns of Louis XIV to Louis XVI, reflecting the stylistic evolutions of the 18th century. Its history reflects the matrimonial and inheritance strategies of the nobility of dress, as well as the influence of royal charges on architectural heritage. Ranked a Historic Monument, it also illustrates the fate of seigneurial residences transformed into retreats for post-revolutionary elites.

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