Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de la Motte-Mazerier, located in Mazerier near Gannat in Allier, finds its origins in the 10th century with a primitive castral motte. The current remains, including the partial moat, date from the 14th century, when the strong house still visible was built. This square building, flanked by a round staircase tower, illustrates the bourbonese defensive architecture of the period, with its three levels and roof in the pavilion. The seigneury, often transmitted between families, passed in particular to the Coëffier in the sixteenth century, linked to the local nobility like Antoine Coëffier de Ruzé d'Effiat, Marshal of France.

In the 18th century, the castle belonged to Jean Baptiste François Barton de Montbas, whose daughter, Marie Françoise, brought in dowry to Gaspard Amable de La Porte d'Issertieux in 1774. The latter, the last lord before the Revolution, escaped confiscation thanks to his non-migration. During the Terror, commissioner Antoine Cariol had the tower's height destroyed and the shields staked (1794), but the property remained in the family. In the 19th century, the son of Gaspard, Amador de La Porte, a former grenadier of the Imperial Guard who had become blind, sold the castle in 1844 before being exiled to Algiers.

The purchaser, Auguste Gaubert, clerk and then judge in Riom, undertook major transformations around 1852: replacing tiles with slates, adding a neo-Gothic wing with an octagonal turret, and modifying openings. The architect Honoré Vianne de Gannat designed this partially realized project, however preserving the medieval character of the house. The castle, which has remained in the descendants of the Grindelle since 1906, was listed as historical monuments in 2021 for its whole (logis, park, commons and driveway).

Architecturally, the castle is distinguished by its imposing elevation on a small plane, typical of the strong Bourbon houses. The main façade, framed by 16th-century sill bays, preserves traces of revolutionary changes (filled frames, demolished towers). Recent restorations have restored the conical roof of the stair tower and partly the ancient appearance of the courtyard. The park, lined with walls, houses commons ( stables, barn) and a brick edicle, testimonies of the 19th century developments.

The seigneury of the Motte, created in the 14th century, frequently changed hands, reflecting the alliances and transactions of the local nobility. The Coëffier, the influential family of Bourbonnais, left their mark before the Savaron and the Trellet in the 17th century. The 19th century marked a turning point with the arrival of the Gauberts, who modernized the castle while respecting its medieval heritage. Today, the site, still private, embodies nearly a thousand years of history, from feudal origins to contemporary heritage protections.

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