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Origin and history

The Château de Villemont, located in Vensat in Puy-de-Dôme, has its origins in the early 16th century as a modest estate dependent on Montpensier County. Confiscated by François I after the betrayal of the connétable de Bourbon, he was acquired in 1557 by Michel de Veyny, treasurer of the Levant Navy, whose family kept him until 1958. The inventories of the 16th and 17th centuries reveal a richly decorated house, with a chapel and goldsmithy objects, although the family resides first in Neufville because of the initial small size of Villemont.

In the 18th century, Gilbert de Veyny, a cavalry mayor, undertook an ambitious reconstruction inspired by Philibert Delorme's methods: the south facade was enlarged, a west wing was added to symetricize the whole, and horseshoe communes framed a court of honour. The castle, designed to house a regiment, reflects a typical military organization, with stables covered at the Mansart and aisles cavalier in star. The seigneury, erected as a marquisat in 1720, declined after the Revolution due to estate conflicts.

The second half of the 19th century marked a major restoration: studded decorations, pepper roofs replacing the domes of the 18th century, and sanitation of the surrounding marshes. Despite these works, the castle was sold in 1958 before being ravaged by a fire on 3 July of the same year. Declared in ruins, he was saved in extremis in 1995 by a restoration project carried out since 2009 by a company foundation, pioneer in France for heritage preservation. Ranked a historic monument in 2012, it preserves remains of 16th-century painted decorations and hydraulic layouts of the gardens.

Among the notable events, in 1566 the castle welcomed King Charles IX, his mother Catherine de Medici and Chancellor Michel de l'Hospital. Marguerite de Veyny d'Arbouze, reformer of Val-de-Grâce Abbey, was born there in 1580. Trudaine's Atlas (1740) describes an L-building flanked by two conical towers, surrounded by French gardens and cavalry paths. After decades of decline, the recent rehabilitation brought the site together in 2024 with the stable farm, restoring its 18th century architectural unit.

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