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Origin and history

Villers-Saint-Paul Castle, also known as Mortefontaine Castle, was a French castle located in the commune of Villers-Saint-Paul (Oise). Its origins date back to the Middle Ages, when a castle was built by the lords of Villers-Saint-Paul, a family disappeared around 1650 with Louise de Villers-Saint-Paul. The estate then passed into the hands of several influential owners, including Jean Bardeau, treasurer general of finance under Henry III, Henry IV and Louis XIII, and Jean du Four, acquirer of the fief in 1673.

In 1710, the estate became the property of Louis IV Henri de Bourbon-Condé, Prince of Condé and Minister of Louis XV. His son, Louis V Joseph, inherited him before yielding him in 1741 to Étienne Hardy du Plessis, then in 1772 to Antoine de Sartine, Secretary of State for the Navy. The latter launched a reconstruction campaign in the 1770s, before reselling the estate in 1776 to Ange-Joseph Aubert, jeweller of the Crown. In 1787, Marc-Antoine Randon de La Tour, treasurer general of the Maison du Roi, had the castle rebuilt entirely, but his property was confiscated and he himself guillotined in 1794.

In the 19th century, the castle belonged in particular to Marshal Gérard, President of the Council under the monarchy of July, then to his descendants, including Étienne Desmiers, Count of Archiac. Sold in 1927 to a Chilean, Hector Beeche, the property was occupied by the German army during the Second World War, then transformed into a vocational school. Abandoned and squatted in the 1960s, the castle, which was listed as historic monuments in 1929, was finally razed in 1970. Today, a lodge house occupies its location.

The estate covered 40 hectares, including a sober white stone castle, dominated by a central pavilion and surrounded by a remarkable park. The latter was crossed by canals fed by the Brèche, with a pond and a wooded island. An alley of lime trees connected the park to the church of Nogent-sur-Oise. Planted species included oaks, beech trees, maple trees, cedars and redwoods, reflecting the landscape richness of the site.

Despite its inscription as historical monuments in 1929, the castle could not be saved. Its history reflects the political and social upheavals of France, from the Ancien Régime to modernity, through the Revolution and the two world wars. Its disappearance marks the end of a major architectural and landscape heritage of Oise.

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