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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Maulmont Castle, located in Saint-Priest-Bramefant, is a composite building built mainly in the 2nd quarter of the 16th century and profoundly redesigned in the 19th century. It consists of three bodies of buildings forming a U-shaped plan, with a central porch body flanked by two round towers. These elements, crowned with false crenellated machicolis, evoke a neo-Gothic style inspired by medieval military architecture. The west and south wings, built in black and red bricks arranged in diamond-shaped patterns, contrast with the north wing in limestone and granite. Originally, only the towers and porch body had a floor, before their elevation in the late 19th century, which added roofs and a third floor to the south tower.

The building of the castle began around 1830 as a hunting event for Adelaide d'Orléans, on a plot housing the remains of a 15th–12th-century convent. The architect Paschal Lepage, close to Pierre Fontaine, probably oversees the works, completed in 1841 (date reached). A 1566 Renaissance portal from the former Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Barthélémy in Clermont-Ferrand is integrated into one of the wings. The interior combines neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance decorations, while the exteriors multiply medieval references (scauguettes, breche, carved coat of arms).

At the end of the 19th century, the architect Honoré Vianne raised west and south wings, transforming the hunting lodge into a castle. Roofs, initially on terraces, are replaced by roofs with pavilions or long-paned roofs, covered with slate or flat tiles. The castle, classified as Historical Monument in 2002, also preserves remains of the Order of the Knights of Malta and the Hotel-Dieu of Clermont. Private property, it illustrates 19th century architectural eclecticism, combining historical reinterpretations and technical innovations.

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