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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Château du Bois-Bide, located in Pocé-les-Bois in Ille-et-Vilaine (Bretagne), was built between 1883 and 1930 at the initiative of the Pontavice family. It replaces a 17th century manor house, of which only a dovecote remains. The architect Angelvin Beignet designed a neo-Louis XIII building, combining shale, sandstone and granite, with medievally inspired turrets. Work began with the North Pavilion (1883), followed by the South Pavilion and the Central Corps, completed in 1930. A chapel, a large living room decorated by Auguste Jobbé-Duval (1929-1930), and 18th-century woodwork complete the interior layout.

The estate extends over a park redesigned by landscaper Henri Nivet in 1910, incorporating 18th-century French gardens, an orangery, and commons built between 1889 and 1914. A fire destroyed the stables in 1905. The castle, which was listed as a historical monument in 2007, also retains elements inherited from the original mansion, such as the dovecote and boxes carved in chess pieces. The property passed into the hands of noble and bourgeois families, including the Le Clavier, Picquet, and the Bourg, before being transferred to the Pontavice in 1830.

The history of the site dates back to 1606, where it is mentioned as a noble farmhouse belonging to the Marquis d'Espinay. In the 18th century, the mansion was embellished by Charles Picquet de Montreuil, who built the French garden. After several changes of owners, including Jean-Baptiste The Moyne de Grand-Pré, the estate was profoundly transformed from 1883. The works, interrupted by the First World War, resumed in 1920 to finish with the chapel and decoration of the large living room. The castle thus illustrates the architectural and landscape evolution of a Breton aristocratic home, from the 17th to the 20th century.

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