Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de la Motte-Daudier, located in Niafles in Mayenne, was built near the Manor de la Heulinière, considered too small for the family of Quatrebarbes. Its construction, initiated by Foulques de Quatrebarbes, was completed in 1892. The name of the castle pays tribute to Cécile Daudier, wife of Foulques, whose maiden name he bears. This site thus replaces a former mansion, attested as early as 1559 under the names La Heulinière or La Mulinière, and linked to local noble families such as the Hullin or the Levistons.

In the 17th century, the seigneury of Heulinière was marked by turbulent successions and religious conversions. Anne de la Chesnaie, heir after the mismanagement of her father Joachim, married René de Leviston in 1669. Their daughters, Deborah and Jeanne de Leviston, abjured Protestantism in 1685-1686, reflecting the religious tensions of the time. Deborah, married to Charles-Gideon of Riduet in 1694, continued the lineage with the birth of their son Gideon-Pierre-Amaury in 1701. In 1737 M. Minault de la Heslaudière became seigneur of the place, closing this period.

Local archives, such as the parish registers of Niafles or the documents of the Departmental Archives of Mayenne, testify to this story. The historical dictionary of Angot and Gaugain (1900-1910) devotes a notice to the castle, highlighting its anchoring in the Mayen heritage and its role in the social and religious history of the region. The site thus embodies both architectural evolution and the upheavals of the 16th–15th centuries.

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