Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château des Agneaus came into being in the 11th century, when the place called "Les Agneaus" belonged to the abbey of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. Around 1585, Guillaume Marchant transformed an existing farm into a fort house, surrounded by ditches and equipped with a drawbridge. The seigneury, erected as a noble fief in 1627 for Laurent de Naberat, then passed into the hands of influential families such as the Montyon, Le Fèvre d'Ormesson and Feydeau. This site, marked by defensive and residential developments, reflects the architectural evolution of seigneurial houses in Île-de-France.

In the 18th century, Captain Pierre Gréban de Suzy acquired the estate in 1757 and described it as a set of pavilions, water ditches and a long avenue d'ormes. Under the First Empire, General Pierre-Auguste Hulin became its owner, before Senator Placide Astier bought it in 1903. These hand changes illustrate its strategic and social importance, while preserving its aristocratic character. The castle then retains a brick and stone structure, with a central pavilion and two turrets, symbol of its past prestige.

In 1925, the American publisher Elmer Sidney Prather purchased the house to become the American Country Club's clubhouse. Two golf courses, designed by Hockey and Hamilton White, were inaugurated in 1931, marking its transformation into a recreational venue. The castle, occupied by the German army during the Second World War (1940-1945), then became a golf space, with a restaurant and receptions. Since 1975, it has belonged to the S.C.I. SIMADA, bringing together the club members.

The architecture of the Château des Agneaus combines medieval heritage and modern amenities. The body of primitive houses, flanked by turrets and surrounded by ditches, was completed by pavilions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, giving a silhouette "in rings". The agricultural outbuildings of the Bourbonderie farm, as well as the water and canal, testify to its seigneurial past. Today, the estate extends along the edge of the forest of Notre-Dame, 25 km south-east of Paris, combining heritage and sporting activity.

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