Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Buhards Castle is a building built in the middle of the 19th century, more precisely in 1856, on the commune of La Jumellière (Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire). It replaces a seigneury attested from the sixteenth century, implanted above a valley tributary of the Layon. The castle was commissioned by René Montrieux, then administrator of the Ardoisières d'Angers and future mayor of Angers (1859–70), and was designed in a Louis XIII style, blending bricks, tuffeau and slates. Its architecture is inspired by the manerist models of Jacques du Cerceau and Salomon de Brosse, with an illusionist game of perspectives and a marked polychromy. The Parisian architects Chulot (Landscaper) and Mortier led the work between 1853 and 1856, including a park, an inner courtyard, a greenhouse, and basins. The chapel, added in 1888, is the work of the architect Angelvin Beignet.

The castle is distinguished by its abundant carved decoration, including hunting trophies adorning the facades. It was listed as a historical monument on 9 August 1999, protecting the castle itself, the chapel, the large basin, the greenhouse, and the facades of the communes. Owned by a private company, the site retains remarkable elements such as its polychrome materials (slates, bricks) and its 19th-century spatial organization. Sources also mention a precise location: 5083 Les Buhards, on the present municipality of Chemillé-en-Anjou, although the official address remains attached to La Jumellière.

The history of the castle is linked to the angeline slate industry, René Montrieux being a major player in this sector in the 19th century. The estate illustrates the influence of local elites in building prestigious residences, combining architectural innovations and historical heritage. Today, the Buhards castle remains a testimony of this eclectic and monumental heritage, characteristic of the region of the Pays de la Loire.

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