Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Blanville Castle, located in Saint-Luperce in the department of Eure-et-Loir, was built in 1643 for François Pierre du Cluzel, future intendant of the generality of Tours. This castle from the 2nd quarter of the 17th century, rebuilt in the 18th century, consists of a central building body flanked by two short wings, extended by communes delimiting a large rectangular courtyard. The moats, marked by two square pavilions with opposite angles, frame a French garden and a green carpet, typical of landscape art of the time.

In 1750, the estate evolved under the influence of its owners, including the Ducluzel family, local Counts. The castle became a prestigious place, as evidenced by Marie-Antoinette Ducluzel's marriage in 1811 with Count Frédéric de Merode, the future hero of the Belgian revolution of 1830. The latter, mayor of Saint-Luperce in 1828, died in Malines during the fight for Belgian independence. In the 20th century, the estate belonged to the Countess of Cossé-Brissac.

The castle is listed in the Historical Monuments on November 6, 1969, protecting its facades, roofs, the honorary courtyard with its pavilions, the French garden, moats and green carpet. Its architecture reflects the influence of provincial intendants under the Ancien Régime, while its family history combines French and European nobility.

Saint-Luperce, a rural commune in Eure-et-Loir, is crossed by the Eure and marked by a dominant agricultural heritage (83% arable land in 2018). The castle, surrounded by moat and integrated with a landscape of cereal plains, illustrates the role of seigneurial residences in the territorial and social organisation of the Centre-Val de Loire region.

The local natural hazards (floods, withdrawal and swelling of clays) and the proximity of Chartres underline the historic importance of the castle as an architectural and memorial landmark. The archives also mention personalities related to the site, such as Philibert Trudaine de Montigny, an 18th-century administrator, or the Ducluzel, a Comtal family that marked the history of the estate.

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