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Origin and history

The Château de la Grange, located in Servières en Lozère, is a 16th century building with a rectangular plan of local stone, topped by a round road with mâchicoulis. Its facade features a Louis XIII door known as "diamond facet", characteristic of the Gevaudan of Ancien Régime, as well as eight rose sandstone sled windows. The building, slightly remodelled, evokes neighbouring castles such as the Champ or Rocheblave, reflecting late feudal architecture.

Built by the Borrel family (XVth-15th centuries), now Borrel of Chanoilhet and then Borrel of Lagrange, the castle was the seat of a modest seigneury. A document from 1716 revealed income of 315 pounds, illustrating a modest lifestyle: in comparison, a lieutenant earned 900 pounds annually, and a cow cost 50 pounds. The Borrels joined the local aristocracy, such as the Retz de Servières or the Salin de Salillant.

In the 18th century, Marie-Adélaïde de Borrel de Chanoilhet married Jean-Baptiste de Florit of the Tour de Clamouse de Corsac, military and mayor of Mende in 1815. The castle remained in the Corsac family until 1912, when Urbain de Corsac, the last heir, died. Ranked a historic monument in 1999, it now bears witness to the history of the rural elites of Gevaudan under the Old Regime and beyond.

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