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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The fort house of Charolles, also known as the fort house of Corcelles, is located in the former commune of Saint-Symphorien-lès-Charolles, attached to Charolles in 1896. It stands on a hill overlooking a valley in the department of Saône-et-Loire. The site is mentioned as early as the 10th century with Wibertus, a knight ("miles") declaring to own a domain (manse) in Corcelles. A local lineage, the family of Corcelles, is attested in 1119 in a charter of the priory of Paray.

In 1366, the strong house passed into the hands of the heirs of the family of Corcelles, married to Jean Sachet, Étienne Saligny and Jean Bocquillon. Until the end of the 16th century, it frequently changed owners: Sachets, Bocqueillon, des Fossés, Saint-Anthot and Sèves. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Mottin family became its owner and rebuilt the current building. Guy Mottin, a lawyer at the bailiage of Charolles, consolidated his possession in 1643 by buying the shares of his sister Jeanne and his brother-in-law Jean Beaudinot. The coat of arms of Guy Mottin and his wife, visible on the gate, date from this period.

The architecture mixes medieval defensive elements (canonières, square towers) with 17th century developments, such as the chapel installed in a tower. The central courtyard, surrounded by rectangular buildings and commons, opens with a gate in the middle of the hanger topped with mâchicoulis. In 1694, Claude Mottin was lord of the place. In the 18th century, Corcelles passed by alliance to Blaise Quarré, husband of Marthe Laison, before being acquired in 1906 by the Meaudre des Gouttes family, the current owner.

Partially classified as Historic Monuments in 1976, the strong house protects its facades, roofs of the two square towers and its entrance gate. Its history reflects the social and architectural changes of the local nobility, between the Middle Ages and the modern era, while preserving traces of the families that shaped it.

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