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Origin and history

The castle of Boisy, located on the eponymous plateau in the commune of Pouilly-les-Nonains (incorporating the former parish of Saint-Martin-de-Boisy), takes its name from an oak wood (Boscum in Latin) formerly covering the territory. His history began in the 14th century when Jean Simon, an anobli bourgeois and sergeant of King Charles V, adopted the name of Boisy after acquiring land by abnevisations. Married to Jacqueline de la Grange, sister of Cardinal Minister Pierre de Lagrange, he laid the foundations of a local seigneurial line, although the official title of seigneur of Boisy appeared only with the Gouffier in the next century.

In 1397, the sons of John Simon, Humbert and John de Boisy obtained permission from Louis II de Bourbon, Count of Forez, to build a strong house. As early as 1402, they built a square dungeon surrounded by ditches on the site of a barn, complemented by a vast hydraulic network: artificial ponds (including one of 25 hectares), canals draining streams from the Madeleine Mountains, and bank mills. These facilities, vital for the local economy, allow the production of fish, irrigation, and feeding the ditches of Roanne Castle. Jacques de Boisy, son of Humbert, however, sold the estate in 1447 to Eustache de Lévis-Cousan, who gave it the same year to Jacques Coeur, the silversmith of King Charles VII.

Jacques Cœur's brief possession (1447–155) marked a turning point: although his disgrace in 1451 interrupted his ambitious hydraulic projects (such as the Bief de Boisy, canal capturing the waters of the Panetière), his name remained associated with the castle. Confiscated by the crown, the estate was acquired in 1455 by Guillaume Gouffier, Charles VII's first chamberlain and instigator of the fall of the Heart. Under the Gouffier, Boisy became an artistic fiefdom thanks to Hélène Catherine de Hangest (wife of Artus Gouffier), who established there around 1500 a pottery workshop of Italian influence (called Henri II), active until the 17th century. The facades and dungeon, remodelled at that time, reflect its decorative heritage.

The castle, protected under the title of Historical Monuments (registered in 1927 for its facades and roofs, classified in 1931 for its south/east wings and towers), also embodies the hydraulic history of the Roannais. The lords of Boisy, who were responsible for water management, had to maintain ponds, banks and mills to avoid the devastating floods of the Loire — such as that caused in 1706 by François d'Aubusson de la Feuillade, whose river navigation project caused a deadly flood. Today owned by an association, the site preserves traces of its medieval and reborn past, from ditches to seigneurial decorations.

The social organization around Boisy is based on a late feudal system: the Gouffier, lords of Roannais, grant abnevisations (emphyteotic leases) to local notables, such as the Roanne mill ceded in 1579 to Mathieu Goyon, or the perpetual water rights granted in 1700 to François Odin. These contracts illustrate the balance between seigneurial power and economic activities (meunery, fishing, handicrafts), while the production of pottery in seigneurial factory (1530–30) bears witness to a diversified economy linked to trade with Italy through the marriage of the Gouffier-Hangest.

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