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Origin and history

The Hotel Desmazières, located in Beaulieu-sur-Layon in Maine-et-Loire, is an emblematic example of an 18th-century mansion in Anjou, although 17th-century remains remain. Built in 1779, it consists of a main body framed by two wings of communes, forming a court of honor accessible from the street. In the back, a one hectare park and a service yard complete the whole. The 1667 vintage engraved on a pavilion of the West Communes attests to the earlier existence of a house on this site, creating an architectural contrast between the eighteenth century facades and older structures. Among the remarkable elements are a 17th century kitchen, with a central beam with chamfered edges and a four-furnished kitchen garden, as well as traces of a fire during the Vendée wars.

The hotel was commanded by Thomas-Gabriel Desmazières (1743–1818), an influential magistrate, adviser to the Presidial d'Angers, rector of the University of Angers and deputy for Maine-et-Loire at the Constituent Assembly from 1789 to 1803. In 1772 he married Marguerite Ayrault, daughter of an angeline magistrate, and had two children, Melanie and Thomas-Louis. The hotel, transmitted by inheritance to Melanie, remained in the family for several generations. During the Vendée wars, the hotel court served as a place of detention for some 40 women whose husbands fought in the Salesian armies. Their release was achieved through the intervention of a peasant named Pellé, avoiding their execution, although the village of Beaulieu was partially burned and looted by the Republican troops.

The building, which was listed as a historical monument in 1968, is attributed by some historians to the architect Jacques Jarry, also the master of the Pinsonnière house in Beaulieu-sur-Layon. Its style could be inspired by the Ollone hotel in Angers, built in the 1760s. Today, the Hotel Desmazières belongs to Madame and Mr Denizeau and is visited on request. Its architecture, blending 18th century elegance and 17th century traces, makes it a rare testimony of local history, marked by revolutionary upheavals and vendean conflicts.

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