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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Château de Chastellier-Barlot, located in Le Poiré-sur-Velluire in Vendée, finds its origins in the Middle Ages on a hill overlooking the Poitevin marsh. At the end of the 16th century (circa 1593), Antoine Barlot undertook his reconstruction in a Renaissance style, while preserving medieval turrets. The architect Jean Morisson, already known for the castle of Newfoundland in Fontenay-le-Comte, oversees the works. This mixture of epochs reflects the transition between feudal defense and seigneurial residence.

Without an heir, the Barlot family sold the estate in 1694 to Jean de Creil, who thus obtained the title of Marquis de Creil Bournezeau. The French Revolution led to a new sale, but the Napoleonic cadastre attested to the persistence of the moat, fed by a canal connected to the Vendée river. This hydraulic system illustrates the adaptation of the castle to its marshy environment, typical of the region.

In the nineteenth century, the castle changed its vocation: transformed into a dairy-fromagerie from 1888, it saw the addition of an industrial fireplace. The estate passed into the hands of several owners (Béziau, Lepetit, Dubois) before the activity ceased in 1928. The facades and roofs were finally classified as historical monuments in 1977, marking the beginning of a partial restoration in the 1990s, but without regaining its original state.

Today, the castle retains two towers and a rebuilt structure, but remains without windows. Its history reflects the economic and social changes of the Vendée, between provincial nobility, industrial revolution and preserved heritage. The traces of the moat and canal recall its historical link with the water tracks of the Poitevin Marsh.

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