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Origin and history

The Château de Champiré, located in Grugé-l'Hôpital in the department of Maine-et-Loire, is a building whose origins date back to the 15th century. At that time, it was a fortified manor house surrounded by moat, with four towers of which only the south tower remains today. This primitive castle, belonging to the Barony of Pouancé, also included a drawbridge, showing its initial defensive character. The preserved remains include a period chimney on the floor and part of the work.

In the middle of the 18th century, the castle was deeply transformed into a pleasant home. In 1767 Joachim-André Aveline de Narcé acquired the estate and undertook, between 1768 and 1770, the reconstruction of the north wing under the direction of architect Angelvin Étienne-François Chaintrier. This new wing, higher than the medieval western wing, adopts a classic style with a five-span facade and a triangular pediment. The works, documented by a "book of principal works" held by Aveline de Narcé, mark the transition from the castle to aristocratic residence.

The castle preserves remarkable landscape elements, like two basins built in the course of the Arraise, possible vestige of the old moat. A Virginia tulip tree shades the north facade, while a bridge provides access to the commons and kennel, built for some in the 19th century ( stables and orangery). The site, which in the 17th century hosts figures such as Mme de Sévigné or Miss de Lavergne (future Mme de Lafayette), is listed as historical monuments in 2002 for its castle, communes and plated grounds.

In 1940, Marshal Leclerc briefly stayed at the castle, adding a modern historical dimension to this monument. The protected elements include the entire castle (old wing and reconstruction of 1770), the facades of the communes, as well as the basins and surrounding land. The estate thus illustrates the architectural and social evolution of an angeline seigneury, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era.

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