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Origin and history

The château du Claux, located in the commune of Naucelles in the department of Cantal, has its origins in the sixteenth century. He then belonged to the family of Veyre, an influential lineage in the region, notably Aurillac. Jean de Veyre, Sieur du Claux, is the first known member of this family linked to the estate. In 1581, during a Calvinist attack on Aurillac, Guy de Veyre, descendant of Jean, took the lead of the local militias. Injured and having lost three brothers, he was anointed by Henry III in 1582, thus marking the importance of his family in local history.

In the 18th century, the castle changed hands and was acquired around 1758 by Basile Delsol, prosecutor and general farmer. Her daughter, Marie Jeanne Delsol, inherits and brings her in dowry to her first husband, Gabriel Barthélemy de Vigier, an officer and local lord. On his death, she remarried with Pierre Joseph Grasset, Mayor of Mauriac and Napoleonic officer. Grasset, decorated with the Legion of Honour, undertook a partial reconstruction of the castle, which then passed to his descendants, including Claude-Sosthène Grasset d'Orcet, author of writings evoking the estate.

The castle knew several owners in the 19th century, including Géraud Fabre and Pierre Lapeyre, before being passed on to Jeanne-Marie Lapeyre, wife Grognier. In 1920, part of the land was transferred to Baptiste Bouyssou, mayor of Naucelles and farmer. The estate, which covered more than 300 hectares in the 18th and 19th centuries, housed agricultural activities and horse breeding, reflecting the prosperity of the region. The castle, with its outbuildings (granges, stables, orangeries, chapel) and its wooded park, bears witness to this period. After several sales, it was acquired in 2016 by its current owners.

Architecturally, the château du Claux consists of a square building flanked by two towers, with major modifications made between 1790 and 1810. The estate also includes a dovecote now in ruins, as well as remarkable gardens built by Grasset in the 19th century. These elements illustrate the evolution of the castle, from a seigneurial fortress to an agricultural and noble residence, reflecting the social and economic transformations of the region.

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