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Heritage classified

Origin and history

The Château de la Chesnaye, located in Saint-Mars-de-Locquenay in the Sarthe, is a small rural seigneury built during the second half of the 17th century. This monument, little modified in the next century, illustrates the architecture of the seigneurial residences of that time, with a structure composed of a large central house framed by two pavilions. Its interior preserves remarkable decorative elements from the 17th and 18th centuries, such as terracotta floors and panelling, testimony to the refinement of provincial aristocratic habitat.

The estate is accompanied by a garden, typical of landscape developments associated with the seigneurial houses of this period. Ranked Historic Monument by order of 7 August 1997, the castle includes in its protection the large staircase as well as the surrounding gardens. This inscription highlights the heritage value of a building representative of the architectural and social transformations of the end of the Old Rural Regime.

The location of the castle, in the Sarthe department in Pays de la Loire, reflects the establishment of the small seigneuries in the French countryside. These residences played a central role in the local economic and social organization, serving both as a place of power for lords and as a pole of agricultural activities for the surrounding populations. Their preservation now provides insight into everyday life and the social hierarchies of the 17th and 18th centuries.

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