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Origin and history

The castle of La Lande, located in Niafles in the South Mayenne, is a 17th and 18th century monument built on older foundations. In 1697, it was described as a "walled seigneurial house" with a chapel overlooking a courtyard with a large gate topped by a dovecote. The moat, now dried up, and the foundations of a large tower recall its defensive past. The present house, rebuilt in the 18th century, was surrounded by gardens and an alley of ancient beech trees leading to the road from Saint-Aignan to Craon.

The castle played a military role during the Wars of Religion: in 1560 the Duke of Montpensier set up a garrison there, and in 1589 Captain Goulay took over for the Huguenots, making a Protestant stronghold. The chapel, with its altarpiece, was listed as historical monuments in 1987. The estate, transformed into a model farm in the 19th century by Daniel Daudier, also reflects the evolution of seigneurial uses towards an agricultural and landscape vocation.

The seigneury of the Lande belonged to several influential families, including the Chesnaie (16th-17th centuries), marked by conflicts with the Barony of Craon, notably for the erection of a windmill in 1543. In the 18th century, the Lantivy, like Louis-André de Lantivy, married Charlotte Hyacinthe Josephus de Montecler, were the last lords before his acquisition in 1825 by Michel Seguin, mayor of Château-Gontier. The site illustrates the transitions between feudal power, religious conflicts and agricultural modernization.

Architecturally, the castle blends missing defensive elements (doves, tower) with an 18th century house, typical of the Angelian seigneurial residences. Its park, structured by alleys and futaies, bears witness to a careful landscaping, while the chapel, still standing, retains a protected altarpiece. Historical sources, such as the Dictionnaire de la Mayenne (Angot, 1900–1910), highlight its local importance in the Craonnais, between Anjou and Maine.

The archives also mention legal tensions, as in 1511, when Jean de la Chesnaie was convicted of "excessive" on a villagers, or in 1547, when Nicolas de la Chesnaie had to dismantle his mill under pressure from the lady of Craon. These episodes reveal the power relations between local lords and baronial authority, characteristic of the Old Regime in Mayenne.

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