Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Bois-Froust, originally located in Niort-la-Fontaine in the Mayenne (Land of the Loire), was a medieval fortress that became a farm and mill in the 19th century. Victor Hugo described it in 1836 as "a ruin in the midst of the most beautiful and fierce trees in the world", highlighting its preserved natural setting. The site, surrounded by moats and ponds, formed an artificial peninsula, while its shallow house body intrigued Abbé Angot by its mysterious interior layout.

The Renaissance portal, adorned with vermiculated sculptures and hermines, evokes the architecture of the Old Louvre in Paris. It symbolizes the influence of the lords of Chauvigné, notably François, involved in judicial conflicts in 1556 for "doing weapons and homicides". The chapel of Sainte-Anne, founded in 1483 by René de Chauvigné and his wife, was abandoned during the Protestant conversion of the lords, then restored in 1633.

In the 18th century, the castle, already in decline, is described in confessions as a mansion with towers, moats, terraced gardens, and hydraulic systems (channels, water jets, tanks). These accommodations, probably added in the seventeenth century, reflect a search for comfort and pleasure, contrasting with the austerity of feudal castles. The ruin intensified in the 19th century, despite its classification as a protected site.

The castle was the scene of seigneurial violence, as the assassination in 1589 of Louis Hurault, governor of Lassay, by Charles du Bellay during a watch-apens in the chapel. His widow, Judith de Chauvigné, then brought the estate in dowry to Jean de Madaillan de Lesparre. Father Angot and Beauchesne highlight the heritage importance of the site, particularly for its portal and architectural remains.

The descriptions of 1769 reveal a luxurious estate: courtyards closed, dovecote, wood of high futai, aisles decorated with basins, and a garden walled with four newspapers. A large meadow, fed by a covered spring, provided hay and water for water and moat games. These elements, now missing or in ruins, testify to a vassal seigneury of Lassay, the founder of the parish of Niort.

The Cassini Map confirms its state of ruin as early as the 18th century. In the 19th century, only rubble remained, including those in the Sainte-Anne chapel, and canals still fed by the source. The gradual abandonment reflects the post-Renaissance social changes, where castles lost their defensive role to becoming pleasure residences, before falling into disuse.

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