Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de la Rochette, located in Sincey-lès-Rouvray in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, finds its origins in the 12th century. In 1112, the abbey of Moutier-Saint-Jean, which became temporal lord of the village, built a strong house called La Rochette. This first building marks the beginning of a seigneurial occupation on this site, long before subsequent transformations.

In the 16th century, the estate was divided into two distinct entities: the original Rochette and a second strong house, La Motte, built around 1540 during the division of Philippe d'Hubines' fief. The latter, described in 1614 as a house framed by four towers (including a dovecote), a drawbridge and communes, is surrounded by walls. At the same time, La Rochette included a two-storey house with low and high bedrooms, an attic, a vaulted cellar and commons.

The current architecture of the manor house, dating from the 16th century, preserves characteristic defensive elements: a rectangular two-storey plan, circular towers at the corners, a tower overlooking it and a scald. A door with strap marks the east entrance. Close by, a fortified farm with round towers and dry ditches, former lowyard, completes the whole. These buildings, although not classified, are considered to merit protection under Historic Monuments for their heritage value.

The site illustrates the evolution of fortified houses in Burgundy, moving from a purely defensive function to a residential and agricultural role. The transmission of the estate, notably through the marriage of René d'Hubines whose son-in-law François Damoiseau inherited and unified the two houses in 1614, reflects the successional strategies of the local nobility at the dawn of the seventeenth century.

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