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Origin and history

The Château des Perrais, located in Parigne-le-Pôlin in the Sarthe, has its origins in the 15th century, but its present structure is mainly the result of transformations carried out in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Broc's family, who had been the owner since 1450 by alliance with the Saint-Benoît, established their residence there at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Sébastien de Broc built around 1630 east wing, backed by a medieval tower, while the chapel bears the date of 1633. This castle, initially a sober gentilhommière with dardian roofs and triangular skylights, illustrates the architectural evolution of a seigneurial residence over centuries.

In the 18th century, Michel-Armand de Broc, the first Marquis des Perrais, erected the main house body and its facade on the court of honour, marking the classic peak of the estate. The last major work campaign took place in the late 19th century under Thibaut de Broc and his wife Berthe Worms de Romilly, a wealthy heiress. The architect Sanson then adds the west pavilion and the arcades of the courtyard, while Achilles Duchêne redraws the terraced gardens and the French park. The estate, modernized, even hosts a hospital during the First World War under the impulse of the Marquise.

The 20th century marked a turning point for the castle: occupied by the Germans in 1940 and then by the Americans in 1944-45 (school of mine clearance), it was ceded in 1946 to the bishopric of Le Mans. Transformed into a Catholic boarding school (Institution Saint-Michel des Perrais) until 2015, the site forms for decades the local elites in a distance from the cities. Repurchased in 2017 by a Haitian veterinarian, he became a private residence again, closing his institutional history.

On the architectural level, the castle is divided into three parts: the east wing of the 17th century (28 feet long, two-sided roofs), the tower of the oratory dating from 1633, and the additions of the 18th and 19th centuries. The elements protected since 1984 include facades, roofs, staircase with cage, as well as four rooms on the ground floor (dining room, library, large living room, chapel). The estate thus embodies the heritage of the noble families of Sarthoese and their adaptation to successive times.

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