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Origin and history

The Château de la Forge, originally named Château du Breil-Héraut, is a monument located in Chemeré-le-Roi, in the department of Mayenne, in Pays de la Loire. It is 2 kilometres north of the commune, on the Vaiges road, and gives birth to a 6.3 km long stream of the same name which joins the Erve. This site is mentioned on the historical maps of Hubert Jaillot and Cassini, attesting to its seniority and local importance.

Originally, this fief was inextricably linked to that of the Breil-Heraut, to the point where the name was gradually deleted. The present castle was rebuilt around 1840 by Amand Rousseau de Monfrand, under the direction of architect Louis Garnier. At the end of the 19th century, Abbé Angot described its white, crenelated walls, which were elegantly detached from a landscape of vast lawns and wooded mountains. This description highlights its romantic architecture, typical of the aristocratic reconstructions of the time.

The departmental archives of the Sarthe (reference H. 74) and the works of Abbé Angot, published in the Dictionnaire historique, topographie et biographie de la Mayenne (1900-1910), are the main sources documenting this castle. Although little information is available about its lords or its precise role in local history, its inclusion in the lists of the castles of Mayenne underscores its heritage interest.

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