First written entry 1424 (≈ 1424)
Possession of Hervé Couet, building surrounded by ditches.
1628
Adding dependencies
Adding dependencies 1628 (≈ 1628)
Barn and stable added by Jacques de Coudray.
1763
Major reconstruction
Major reconstruction 1763 (≈ 1763)
2-wing building for Henry Gaullier.
1769
Date engraved
Date engraved 1769 (≈ 1769)
Lucarne wearing this date.
27 octobre 2000
Registration for historical monuments
Registration for historical monuments 27 octobre 2000 (≈ 2000)
Official recognition of the castle as a protected heritage.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The mot and its ditch; the facades and roofs of the castle, the platform, moats, the bridge and the entrance gate; the floor and fence wall of the old garden; facades and roofs of outbuildings (old gardener's and tiler's housing; old tile-brickery); the facades and roofs of the old mill (cad. AO lieudit la Motte, 252, 253, 258, 259, 266, 675, 257): inscription by order of 27 October 2000
Key figures
Hervé Couet - Owner in 1424
Possessor of the castle surrounded by ditches.
Jacques de Coudray - Owner in 1628
Add barn and barn to the estate.
Henry Gaullier - Rebuilder in 1763
Sponsor of the current building body.
Origin and history
Château de la Motte, located in Chaumont-sur-Tharonne in the Loir-et-Cher, is an emblematic building of the Castral heritage of the Sologne. Its origins date back to the Middle Ages, with archaeological remains attesting to a medieval occupation. The current mansion, rebuilt in the 18th century on a fossilized platform, retains traces of its successive transformations, from the 14th to the additions of the 18th and 19th centuries. This site perfectly illustrates the evolution of Solognot castles, from their medieval defensive function to their residential role under the Old Regime and beyond.
The estate of La Motte, possession of influential families such as the Couet (mentioned in 1424) or the Gaullier (which rebuilt it in 1763), includes a manor house surrounded by moat, agricultural outbuildings, and an old mill today destroyed. The Gaulliers, who provided several mayors at Chaumont-sur-Tharonne, marked the site with major improvements, such as the two-winged building and four pavilions erected in 1763, or the skylight dated 1769. The castle, which has been listed as a historical monument since 2000, is distinguished by its coherent set: a fossilized motte, facades, moat, bridge, and remains of artisanal activities (tailery-brickery).
The aerial photographs reveal a spatial organization characteristic of the solognot seigneurial domains, where the structure and landscape form an inseparable whole. The site, although partially modified over the centuries, offers a clear reading of its history, from its medieval foundations to its modern climax. The protected elements — moths, ditches, facades, outbuildings — underline its heritage importance, both for the study of castral architecture and for the understanding of local social and economic dynamics. The unidentified coat of arms and the missing mill, however, recall the shortcomings of its history, still partially to be discovered.
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