Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de la Barbée, located in Bazouges-sur-le-Loir in the Sarthe, replaces an earlier house of the 15th-17th centuries, destroyed during its construction at the end of the 18th century. The architect Prosper Simon drew the original plans, before the Parisian architects Abel Lahure and Adrien-Louis Lusson added around 1824 two wings in the pavilion and a pediment adorned with a monumental clock. The estate preserves ancient elements such as moat, three 17th century turrets, and commons, while the reconstructed Sainte-Barbe chapel has a false vault in a cradle.

The castle was owned by François de La Bouillerie, a French politician, and remains today in the hands of his descendants. Ranked a historic monument in 1991, the ensemble includes the house, the chapel, an orangery, communes, a wooded park, structured avenues, and a washhouse. The remains of the moats and towers are reminiscent of the former fortification, while the 19th century developments, such as the northern communes and the cooler, bear witness to the successive transformations of the estate.

The architecture combines cut stone and coated bellows, with croup roofs for the house and two sides for the chapel. The park, lined with walls and crossed by avenues, reflects the typical landscape organization of the aristocratic residences of the early 19th century. A local tradition, unverified, evokes a first castle on a nearby island, but the evidence is lacking to attest. Protected elements also include past and subsequent courses, as well as avenues, highlighting the heritage importance of the site.

External links