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Origin and history

The castle of Rigardon is a seigneurial monument located in Saint-Denis-de-Gastines, in the department of Mayenne (Pays de la Loire). It is 2 kilometres north of the village, in a setting marked by a spring spring forming a stream. This estate, mentioned in 1680 under the name of the seigneurial place of Rigardon, includes a castle with turret, an isolated escape (colombier) bordering the moat, and a chapel dedicated to religious services.

The seigneury of Rigardon, a moving Bailleul, historically belonged to the Froulay family. In 1680 Gabriel-Philippe de Froulay, then bishop of Avranches, founded a Sunday and festive Mass there in the chapel, in fulfilment of the wishes of his elder André de Froulay. The latter had acquired the place called the Greslinière from the hands of Yves du Moutier and Françoise Georges. The archives also mention the seigneury in 1787 and the castle in 1857, highlighting its sustainability throughout the centuries.

The old maps, such as that of Hubert Jaillot or the card of Cassini, identify Rigardon as a complex including castle, chapel, and farm. The presence of a fountain that ends — described by Pierre-François Davelu — and of an associated hydraulic network (ruisseau) adds a topographic singularity to the site. These elements, combined with the escape and the moat, illustrate the classic attributes of an old regime seigneury, combining residential, religious and agricultural functions.

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