Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Fontenailles is a building located in the commune of Saint-Pierre-des-Landes, in the department of Mayenne, in the Pays de la Loire region. Built in the 19th century, it stands out for its location on the slope of a hill, close to departmental 158, 3 kilometers northeast of the village. The site is crossed by the old railway line from Mayenne to La Selle-en-Luitré, with a nearby station, reflecting its integration into the local infrastructure of the time.

The present castle, rebuilt in 1853 by Victor de Tremereuc, husband of Caroline Le Jariel, replaces an older building whose origins date back to at least the eighteenth century. The main building, flanked by a central pavilion, two corner turrets and two ailerons, is located in a closed courtyard of walls and water ditches. A description of the 18th century already mentions a main hall, a kitchen, rooms, as well as a chapel, a dovecote and an adjacent mill, highlighting the residential, agricultural and seigneurial vocation of the estate.

The Fontenailles estate, formerly under the Marolles fief, also includes a pond, nine fountains and a tall wood, typical of the aristocratic properties of the period. The chapel, originally dedicated to worship, was converted into a dependency at the end of the 19th century, illustrating the evolution of the uses of seigneurial spaces. The three long avenues leading to the castle, mentioned on the map of Cassini, as well as the bridge and terrace increasing the ditches, testify to a careful landscape organization, characteristic of the 19th century reconstructions.

The local archives, including Abbé Angot's works and parish manuscripts, provide details of successive lords and fief administration. However, the available sources do not allow to trace exhaustively the history of the castle before its reconstruction in the mid-19th century. The site remains a notable example of Mayan castral architecture, mixing medieval heritage and modernizations of the Second Empire.

External links