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Origin and history

The Château des Roches-Saint-Quentin, built between the 14th and 16th centuries, is located 1 km east of the village of Saint-Quentin-sur-Indrois, in Indre-et-Loire. It dominates the Indrois valley from a hillside, with a main front facing the river. This private castle, today Priory of the Saint John Community, does not visit. Only parts, such as the tower and the dovecote, have been listed as historical monuments since 1971.

The castle was originally owned by the family of Maillé, where in 1331 Jeanne-Marie de Maillé, future blessed, was born. The cylindrical tower, the last vestige of the 14th century, was raised in the 16th century in a Renaissance style, with a scale dome and a lantern. In 1449 Jean du Puy obtained permission to strengthen the building. A year later, in 1488, Adam Smoke, doctor of the kings Charles VII, Louis XI and Charles VIII, became the owner of it after a brief passage under Pierre Morin.

The Smoke family, who also owned Genillé's fief, expanded the estate and obtained in 1536 the right to organize markets and fairs there. In the 18th century, the castle passed to the Menou by marriage. During the Revolution, his coat of arms was hammered. In the 20th century, a restoration added a pavilion, while the 16th century (pigeon) leak, square, with 1100 to 1,600 bolts, still bears witness to the extent of the seigneurial estate.

A local legend, overturned by chronology, tells that Charles VII would have locked Agnes Sorel in the tower, nicknamed since the turn of the beautiful Agnes. This tower maintains a three-storey spiral staircase and a fourth-floor watchroom. The dovecote, independent of the commons, illustrates the economic importance of the estate, the number of bolts being proportional to the surface of the land.

Since 1992, the castle has been home to a Priory of the Saint John Community. Although private, there remains a remarkable example of defensive architecture transformed into a seigneurial residence, combining medieval elements (fortified tower, mâchicoulis) and Renaissance additions (dome, ground bands).

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