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Origin and history

The Château de Maillé, located in La Chapelle-Bâton (Deux-Sèvres, Nouvelle-Aquitaine), finds its origins in a Renaissance construction between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Originally owned by the family of Kermavan, it was thoroughly reshaped by Maurice de Carman and Jeanne de Goulaine, who added a three-storey Renaissance pavilion, decorated with columns superimposed with Tuscan, ionic and Corinthian orders. A chapel, built in 1555, and 16th century murals complete this architectural ensemble.

In 1577, the estate passed to the Maillé, the Tourangelle family, through the marriage of Claude de Ploësquellec with François de Maillé. The latter, killed in duel in 1600, left the castle to his descendants, including Charles de Maillé, who obtained the erection of the lands in marquisat in 1612. The castle remained in the family until 1747, despite such tragedies as the duel death of Donatien de Maillé in 1652. The Maillés, linked to figures like Madame de Sévigné, mark the history of the place until its sale for debt.

After 1747, the castle changed hands several times: the Rohan-Chabot neglected it, Nicolas Ameline de Cadeville partially restored it after 1789, and it was sold as a national good in 1796. In the 19th century, it passed into the hands of Paul Dein, then Baron Nielly, who reforested the estate. In the 20th century, Vice-Admiral Alfred Richard restored it before it became the property of the Danguy Desert family. Occupied by Germans during World War II, it was classified as a Historic Monument in 1981 for its facades, roofs and interior elements.

The architecture of the castle reflects its transformations: an entrance poterne flanked by two lantern towers (1590), contemporary communes of the main body, and a dwelling building accessible by a staircase leading to a terrace. The central body, raised, dominates the whole. Despite the destruction of an wing in the 18th century, Renaissance elements, such as adorned columns and murals, remained. The estate, now private, also retains a chapel and a wooded park.

The castle of Maillé is also linked to historical anecdotes, such as the fatal duel of François de Maillé in 1600 against Guillaume Symon de Tromenec, an excommunicated brigand forced to build an expiratory monument in memory of his victim. The Carman motto, "Carman, God alone before", recalled by Jean-Baptiste Ogée, underscores the medieval heritage of the place, although the present castle is mainly marked by the Renaissance and the reshuffles of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

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