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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Hauts-de-France
  4. Nord
  5. 59970 Fresnes-sur-Escaut

  6. Desandrouin Castle and its park including the so-called Temple of Love

Desandrouin Castle and its park including the so-called Temple of Love à Fresnes-sur-Escaut dans le Nord

Nord

Desandrouin Castle and its park including the so-called Temple of Love

    Rue Vieille Cité Soult
    59970 Fresnes-sur-Escaut
Photo de Desandrouin Castle and its park including the so-called Temple of Love
Crédit photo : Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick (1988–) Descriptionph - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1700
1800
1900
2000
1720
Discovery of coal
1762
Construction of the Temple of Love
1770 (vers)
Building the castle
1810
Gardening facilities and outbuildings
1834
Partial reconstruction of the castle
1958
Assignment of the estate to the city
2024
Classification of facades and park
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The facades and roofs of the castle Desandrouin, as well as the whole of its park with its factories (the "temple" of Love with its cooler, statue of Mars and Venus, cave, bridges), located on the street Ghesquière, on plot No. 258 in the cadastre section AR: inscription by order of 29 April 2024

Key figures

Stanislas Desandrouin - Owner and industrial Have the castle built around 1770.
Gédéon Desandrouins - Founder of Fresnes glassworks Sponsor of the Temple of Love (1762).
Jean-François Chalgrin - Architect (uncertain assignment) Suspected author of the Temple of Love.
Louise-Joséphine Chalgrin - Wife of Stanislas Desandrouin Daughter of architect Chalgrin, heiress of the estate.
Emile Moreau-Saugrain - Heir and last Desandrouin Sell the fragmented estate in 1833.

Origin and history

The Château Desandrouin and its park, located in Fresnes-sur-Escaut, originates in the Desandrouin family, operating glassware in France and Belgium. The discovery of coal in 1720 by this family, seeking to replace wood as fuel for its ovens, marked an economic turning point. The castle was probably built around 1770 for Stanislas Desandrouin, thanks to mining revenues, and decorated with hot greenhouses and a park adorned with madness, including the temple of Love, built in 1762 for the marriage of Gideon Desandrouins with Caroline de Walkiers.

In 1810, developments such as an orange shop, pigeon house and vegetable garden were added. Stanislas Desandrouin, married to Louise-Joséphine Chalgrin (daughter of architect Jean-François Chalgrin, to whom the temple of Love is attributed without proof), died in 1821. The estate then passed to Emile Moreau-Saugrain, then was fragmented and partially demolished before being rebuilt in 1834 with a moulded cement facade, a rarity for the time. The Renard family redesigned the park in English in the 19th century, exploiting the water resources of the Scheldt.

The castle changed hands several times, passing from the Wagret glassmakers (1907) to the Thivencelles Coal Company (1913), and then to the National Houillères after 1946. The park became a public garden in 1958 and the castle was home to municipal activities (school, club of the Anciens). Despite the destruction of the communes in the 1970s, the whole evidence of the local industrial history, mixing glass and coal, and preserves a landscaped park with the temple of Love, a rare architectural madness in the region.

The Temple of Love, attributed to Jean-François Chalgrin, is a circular building supported by eight Doric columns. Built in 1762, it had two replicas in France (Petit Trianon de Versailles and Parc Monceau in Paris). This monument, classified in 2024 for its facades, roofs and factories (glacière, statue de Mars and Venus, cave, bridges), illustrates the influence of large industrial families on the architectural and landscape heritage of the Hauts-de-France.

External links

Page Monumentum