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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The estate of Beaulieu, centered around a composite house, combines the remains of the Tredo castle (15th century) — with its round towers with decorative niches — and an 18th century castle decorated with an honour staircase and a living room with painted woodwork. The communes, organized in U around a basin, and an octagonal dovecote (mid-19th) reflect the architectural evolution of the estate. In the west, a family chapel (1833-1841), in a precarious state, stands in a regular garden overgrown by vegetation, while in the east, a landscaped garden with trees leads to two entrance pavilions. The estate, enclosed by walls, illustrates the successive transformations of a seigneury into an aristocratic residence.

Originally, Beaulieu's fief emerged at the end of the Middle Ages around a castle held by the Chiel family, then passed to the Hindret until the 18th century. In 1741, Pierre de Chaponay acquired the estate and entrusted work to the Lyon architect Guillaume-Marie Delorme, including the west garden in 1774. After the Revolution, the Chaponay family, including Count Pierre-Anne and his wife Marie-Antoinette Durand de Chatillon, undertook restorations, perhaps requesting Viollet-le-Duc for the towers and the east building. Their granddaughter, Valentine de Chaponay, and her husband sold Beaulieu in 1883 to the De Champ family, except the chapel.

In the 19th century, Countess Marie-Antoinette de Chaponay actively supervised the construction of the chapel (architect: Claude-Anthelme Benoît) and the maintenance of the castle. In 1946, the Caisse régionale de sécurité sociale de Lyon transformed the site into a preventorium until its closure in 2013. The estate, partially registered with the Historical Monuments in 2021, is now shared between communal and private property. Its history reflects the transformations of a medieval seigneury into a residential estate, marked by work campaigns in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The site preserves traces of its medieval past, such as the weapons of the Chiel on a key vault, and hydraulic installations in the landscape garden. The chapel, despite its alarming state, bears witness to the aristocratic piety of the nineteenth century, with an exceptional stereotomy. The pavilions are inspired by the mansard house, and the monumental commons emphasize the fascination of the estate at its peak. The ensemble, enclosed by walls, offers a rare example of architectural continuity between the Middle Ages and the modern era in Lyon.

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