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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Baville, built between 1625 and 1629 by Michel Villedo for Chrétien de Lamonion, replaces a former seigneurial mansion. This master mason of Louis XIII, then at the beginning of his career, realized a stone and brick construction typical of the Louis XIII style, at a cost of 45,000 pounds. The estate becomes a meeting place for the intellectual and aristocratic elite of the Great Century, welcoming figures such as Racine, La Fontaine, or Madame de Sévigné.

In 1677, Chrétien-François I de Lamaonion, Marquis de Basville and attorney general, added two wings in return, respecting the original style. The communes were built in 1769 for Charles-François de Lamaonion. The family retained the estate until 1791, when it was sold to Philippe Albert Joseph de Saulty, receiver general and regent of the Banque de France, who died there in 1833. The left wing, destroyed in the 19th century, housed a library today scattered, notably at the British Museum.

The gardens, originally in French, were transformed into English gardens in 1816 before being restored in their original style at the end of the 19th century, possibly by the Duchêne brothers. During the Second World War, the castle served as a boarding school at the Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague. Ranked a historic monument in 1990, it is also known for having been a filming site of the series L的Internat in 2009. Its architecture, marked by white stone links and red brick trimmings, makes it a remarkable example of 17th-century French art.

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