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Origin and history

Ollainville Castle, also known as Brière Castle, was a seigneurial estate located in the current town of Ollainville (Essonnes), formerly attached to Bruyères-le-Châtel. Originally owned by the family of Baillon in the 16th century, it was acquired in 1570 by René Crespin, lord of Gast, before being exchanged a month later to Benoist Milon, treasurer of the wars. The latter, anointed by his office, built a castle closed with ditches, with gardens, farmland and mills, transforming the estate into a prosperous seigneury.

In 1576 King Henry III bought the castle at Benoist Milon for 50,000 books tournaments and made it a country residence. He stayed there several times, signed royal edicts, and received his brother, the Duke of Alençon, in 1576. The estate, richly furnished and embellished, became a place of power and political reconciliation. After the death of Henry III in 1589, the castle passed to Henry IV, who in 1595 offered it to his sister, Catherine de Bourbon, duchess of Bar, before she sold it in 1600.

In the 17th century, the castle changed hands several times: acquired by François de La Grange in 1600, it was then possessed by Michel de Marillac, State Councillor, who added terraces and regular gardens. In the 18th century, it belonged successively to the Duchess of Lauzun, to the receiver Boucaud, then to the Marshal duke of Castries, which expanded it in 1782. Confiscated during the Revolution, it escaped destruction in 1790 thanks to the intervention of the National Guard, but was finally demolished in 1831.

Today, the castle remains only visible basements at the Palace Terraces, an old orangery transformed into a farm, and Italian-style caves built in the 17th century in the park. These remains, as well as the pavilions of the restored guards, recall the historical importance of this domain, once a place of royal power and seigneurial life.

The archives also mention remarkable architectural elements, such as water ditches, round towers at the corners of the square castle, and agricultural outbuildings (pressors, sheepfolds, mills). The estate also had full seigneurial rights, including high, medium and low justice, as well as income from land and cens.

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