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Origin and history

Thierry's castle was built in 1776 in Ville-d'Avray for Marc-Antoine Thierry, the first valet of Louis XVI, on the plans of architect Joseph-Elie-Michel Le Fèvre. He replaced an old seigneurial mansion, and the estate initially consisted of a cottage, a farm, communes and a park decorated with factories. Louis XVI handed over the seigneury of Ville-d'Avray to Thierry in 1783, but the latter died in 1792 during the revolutionary massacres, resulting in the destruction of the communes and chapel.

After the Revolution, the castle changed hands several times. In 1854, it was acquired by Paul Cocteau, notary and mayor of Melun, before being divided and rented by apartments. In 1871 it became the property of Madame Paul Lelong, then of the Count of Lariboisière, who sold it to Felix Laroche, engineer of the Suez Canal. During the two world wars, the castle served as a military hospital and was occupied by the Germans.

Threatened by demolition in 1969, the castle was bought by the town of Ville-d'Avray. Since then, it has hosted cultural activities (exhibitions, concerts, municipal meetings) and its horseshoe staircase, as well as its entrance gate, have been classified as historical monuments since 1973. Its neoclassical architecture, sober and elegant, illustrates the Louis XVI style, with refined decorative motifs such as bay garlands.

The domain, now reduced, preserves traces of its prestigious past, including the wrought iron grille decorated with Madame Lelong's monogram. The castle symbolizes both the 18th century aristocratic heritage and the social transformations of the 19th and 20th centuries, while remaining a living place dedicated to culture and local memory.

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