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Origin and history

The castle of Vesvres, located in Rouy in the Nièvre, is a fort of plain built in the 12th century at the intersection of two major Roman ways: one connecting Nevers to Autun (east-west axis), the other Clamecy to Decize (north-south axis). This strategic site, lined with walls and surrounded by two ponds, housed a powerful seigneury. Architectural remains, such as the 15th-century square dungeon with thick walls pierced by the archères, or the courtesies lined to house a garrison, reflect its defensive and residential role.

In the 15th century, the seigneury moved to the House of Armes, which undertook work to house mercenaries and peasants, partially transforming defences into habitats. Confiscated in 1474 by Louis XI to the family of Rochefort (allied with Charles le Témeraire), it was returned after 1477. The castle, periodically abandoned, was reoccupied in 1558 thanks to further restructuring. In the 18th century, after the extinction of the line of Armes, it became a farm under the management of farmers, including Claude Mathieu, pioneer of the Charolaise breed.

The Revolution marked a turning point: sold as national property in 1794, the castle in ruins was acquired by Camille Mathieu, son of Claude. In the 19th century, the Pracomtals recovered the estate, but the estate problems of the 20th century (17 heirs in 1957) led to its fragmentation. Saved from the ruin by the Dalloz-Bourguignon family (1963-1994), which restores it to the centre of art, it is today a private property closed to the public, after decades of looting and successive restorations.

The architecture combines medieval elements (donjon, courtines of the 13th-XIVth centuries) and Renaissance additions (buildings of the 16th century, carved dovecote). The ditches filled in the seventeenth century, the drawbridge disappeared, and the shields hammered at the Revolution illustrate its transformations. The communes, with stables and barns, still carry the traces of the lords' weapons, while the surrounding ponds and meadows recall its anchoring in the landscape of Nivernais.

Among the notable owners are Jean de Billy (XIVth century), the d-Armes (XV-15th centuries), or Bruno Ecklé (from 1994), who entrusted his management to Bernard Massin for an emergency restoration. The coat of arms of the successive families (Pracomtal, Armes, d'Ancienneville) once decorated the facades, now partially erased by time and conflict.

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