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Origin and history

Vadencourt Castle, located in the Somme department northeast of Amiens, was originally built in the seventeenth century. Henri Pingré de Vraignes became its owner around 1680 before transmitting it to his son-in-law, Jean-François de Chassepot de Beaumont. The latter, master captain at the Grande Fauconnerie de France, undertook an almost complete reconstruction of the castle at the beginning of the eighteenth century, before selling it in 1738 to François de Quellie de Chanteraine, who completed the works in the 1740s.

The estate then passed on by inheritance to several noble families: de Villers au Tertre, de Malet de Coupigny, Louis de Lagrange, Le Sergeant d'Hendecourt and Bonnault. In 1921 Charles Hourdequin acquired the castle, among which the heir, Christiane Vandenheede, bequeathed him in 2005 to the Apprentice Orphans of Auteuil. Left behind, it was auctioned in 2019 after a devastating fire in 2018, which completely destroyed the left wing.

The castle, which has been protected since 1988 for its facades, its roof and its wrought iron gate (attributed to Jean-Baptiste Veyren, dit Le Vivarais), consists of a central house body framed by communes and a farm. Its architecture combines chalk, brick and stone, with Mansart roofs and pepper towers. The surrounding park, with a basin, completes this remarkable set of picardic history.

Despite the ravages of time and fire, Vadencourt Castle remains a testimony to the architectural transformations of the 17th and 18th centuries, reflecting the influence of local aristocratic families. Its recent abandonment and sale raise questions about the preservation of rural heritage in Hauts-de-France.

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