Medieval origins XIIe siècle (≈ 1250)
First construction on the current site.
4e quart XIXe siècle
Renaissance reconstruction
Renaissance reconstruction 4e quart XIXe siècle (≈ 1987)
Transformations by Paul Guillerot.
15 décembre 2010
Registration for Historic Monuments
Registration for Historic Monuments 15 décembre 2010 (≈ 2010)
Total protection of the house and park.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
In total, the house, its platform, the bridge and its moats (Box C 226, 577); dependencies (see C 577) and the isolated tower (see C 579); the vegetable garden and its enclosure (Box C 208, 578); the pond of La Porte and its carriageway (Box C 220); the fishery (cf. C 230, 576): registration by order of 15 December 2010
Key figures
Paul Guillerot - Architect
Remakes the Renaissance style home in late 19th century.
Origin and history
The castle of Theil, located in Saint-Aubin-le-Cloud in the Deux-Sèvres, is built in the 4th quarter of the 19th century on a medieval site whose origins date back to the 12th century. Few elements of this period remain, but the current layout of the ground floor rooms and the monumental fireplace of the library still testify to the organization of the original house. At the end of the 19th century, architect Paul Guillerot profoundly transformed the building, inspired by the Renaissance style to redo the high parts, interior decoration, and add a false terrace to the west as well as a two arched bridge over the moat.
The outbuildings, partially preserved (half of the south wing and west wing), complete an architectural complex marked by remarkable elements: woodwork, granite frames, spiral staircase, and a monumental fireplace. The castle is listed for historical monuments on 15 December 2010, protecting the house, its moats, the bridge, outbuildings, an isolated tower, the vegetable garden, and a pond with its pavement. These protections also cover landscaped areas, such as the fishing and the gate pond, integrated into a 200-hectare park designed as an example of an English-speaking agricultural park, combining harmony and functionality.
The original medieval site, although not visible today, remains present in the very structure of the castle, where are mixed Gothic heritage and Renaissance reinterpretation. The architect Paul Guillerot, in modernising the house, preserved some ancient elements while bringing there an eclectic aesthetic, characteristic of the aristocratic transformations of the late nineteenth century. The castle thus illustrates a transition between two epochs: a feudal past which it keeps track of, and a stylistic renaissance peculiar to its century of reconstruction.
