Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Château de la Motte, located in Épervans in Saône-et-Loire, was established in the 15th century on a feudal motte attested from the 11th century. The fief then depended on Saint-Marcel for justice and belonged to Hugo des Barres. At the end of the 18th century, François Mercier, lord of Mercey and adviser to the Parliament of Burgundy, became its owner after marrying a Miss Sousselier. The estate then moved to the Laberly families (XIX-XX century), then to Robert Gehin in 1970, before being transformed into a horse club in the 1980s.

At the end of the 19th century, the castle consisted of two parallel buildings surrounding a courtyard, accessible by a massive square porch tower preceded by a dormant bridge (replacing an old drawbridge). A small square tower served as a chapel. Abandoned, the site degrades to the point where it only conserves the porch tower, the hat tower and a half-timbered shed. In 1995, the remaining remains (porch tower, moat, wood-paned gallery, etc.) were listed as historical monuments by the current owner, Jean-Marc Royer, who undertook their restoration.

The architecture mixes panels of wood with defensive elements, such as the moat and the original motte. The site, private property, does not visit but illustrates the evolution of a medieval fief in seigneurial estate, then in preserved heritage. The traces of the feudal motte and the tower, similar to that of Champforgeuil, underline its regional historical importance.

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