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Origin and history

The château de la Girardière, located in Saint-Jean-sur-Mayenne in the department of Mayenne, was originally a property justice fief dependent on Anthenaise. In 1490, the archives mentioned a "court of the place of the Girardière", including a cup of wood and a chesnaye, suggesting an ancient seigneurial occupation. Prior to 1417, the baron de Laval had already transferred to the Sieur de la Girardière rights of measurement on wheat and wine, as well as property wrecks and land on several nearby lands, including the Efbarière and Montfranchet.

The present castle preserves elements of its past, as a pavilion of old houses dating from 1741, marked by that date. In the garden there is a vaulted and panelled pavilion, decorated with hunting scenes from the 17th or 18th centuries, as well as a sundial. The latter was named after Stephen Perier, honoured in 1741 by Brother Denis Hayneufve, a Jacobin of Laval, attesting to the links between the castle and the local elites of the time.

Historical sources, including the titles of the Girardière and the parish registers of Saint-Jean-sur-Mayenne, confirm its importance as seigneurial seat. References to the Brie-Serrant family and Guillaume de Brie in the related articles suggest connections with the regional nobility, although these links are not detailed in the available texts. The site remains an architectural testimony of the transformations between the Middle Ages and the modern era in Mayenne.

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