Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château-Couture, located in Jaunay-Marigny in Vienna, is an emblematic building of the 2nd quarter of the 16th century, built during the reign of François I. It is distinguished by its hybrid architecture, mixing defensive elements (scenes, mâchicoulis, cannonières) with an elegant Renaissance decor. Built entirely in tuft between 1520 and 1540, it includes a 40-metre-long rectangular house body, flanked by two round towers on the garden side and two square pavilions on the courtyard side. Together, partly surrounded by ditches, peaks at more than 30 meters. Its vaulted kitchens, located in the basement, testify to its use for a large domesticity. Originally, the estate was surrounded by an agricultural and landscaped park, protected by a wall.

The land of Jaunay-Clan passed into the hands of the Smoked family in 1471, through the marriage of Pierre Fumé de la Perrière and Hilaire Herbert de la Couture, heiress of the place. The castle, then named "Chastaucouvert", was associated with François Fumée (Mayor of Poitiers in 1520), who built it with his father, Pierre Fumée. When he died in 1532, the fief fell to his younger son, François II Smoke, and then to Francis III (treasurer general of France at Poitiers in 1597). The family retained the estate for three centuries, until the death of Élisabeth Fumé in 1775, widow of the Marquis de Foudras de Courcenay. The castle then changed hands, passing to the families of Tudert and Vassé, before being transformed into a gentilhommière in the 19th century, losing its wings in return of square side courtyard.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1984 (inscription confirmed in 1990), the Château-Couture illustrates the influence of Poitiers mayors and royal officers in local architecture. Its screw staircase, capitals decorated with ram horn volutes, and carved masks reflect the Poitevin Renaissance style. Despite the partial disappearance of its structures, it retains its vaulted cellars and its imposing house body, witness to its seigneurial and administrative past under the Old Regime.

External links