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Origin and history

The Château du Meux, located in the municipality of Picardie (present-day Hauts-de-France), is a building dating from the 2nd quarter of the 17th century, renovated in the 18th and 19th centuries. It replaces an ancient 12th century feudal castle, destroyed in the 15th century by order of Charles VII after its conquest by the English and Bourguignons. The current building, 32 metres long, is distinguished by its facades in pink bricks and white stones, typical of classical architecture, as well as by its blue slate roof resting on a remarkable structure at the top.

The construction of the present castle was launched by Jean de Rouville, lord of the Meux, and completed in 1637 by his son. The architects, although unconfirmed, include François Mansart and Sébastien Bruand. The monument passed into the hands of multiple owners, including Louis Marie de Rouville (1708), Count de la Mothe-Haudancourt (1720), and Jacques-François de Maleissye (1738). In the 19th century, it was owned by families such as the Poulain de la Bigne (1875) or the Desrotours Fanneau de la Touche (1890), before being acquired in 1976 by Jacques Darmon, current owner.

Inside is organized around a central hall distributing the reception rooms to the left and the service spaces to the right. The most notable architectural element is a vaulted staircase in bricks and stone, composed of two straight flights connected by rectangular bearings, inscribed in the inventory of historical monuments. The park, originally designed in French with a wide range of avenues, was transformed into a freer space in the 19th century, now home to a bicentennial Virginia tulip tree, ranked among the most beautiful trees in the Oise.

The outbuildings include an orangery chapel (35 m2) mentioned as early as 1757, 18th century communes, and a 19th century barn (25 m long). The gardener's house, attested in 1747, was razed in 1976. The castle and its protected elements (façades, roof, gate, staircase) were listed as historical monuments on 17 May 1977, recognizing their heritage value.

Historical sources suggest a possible allocation of the park to Le Nôtre in the early 19th century, although this assumption remains unconfirmed. The castle illustrates the evolution of architectural and landscape tastes, from the rigorous classicism of the seventeenth century to a more free romanticism in the nineteenth century, while preserving traces of its feudal and seigneurial past.

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