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Origin and history

The Château d'Arthies, located in Val-d'Oise, is a strong house built around 1430 by the family of Théméricourt. This medieval monument is distinguished by its pentagonal and octagonal tower, which houses a staircase, as well as by a stone-and-brick checkered facade inspired by Norman architecture. The dovecote, also octagonal, preserves its inner brick bolts and a dovecote protected by an anti-rodent slat.

In the 16th century, the seigneury passed to the family of Silly de La Roche-Guyon, which strengthened the site with a wall of enclosure and a fortified gate flanked by two towers. These additions, like the dovecote, have the same checkered pattern, characteristic of the military constructions of the time. The bricks used, cooked on site, were 4 cm thick for 17 cm long, as evidenced by an oven discovered in 1898 nearby.

The castle remained the property of the Silly until the French Revolution, serving as a seigneurial residence with a captain and intendant on site. Its architecture reflects the Norman influences and defensive needs of the late Middle Ages, while illustrating the evolution of construction techniques between the 15th and 16th centuries. The site, listed as a historic monument in 1948, is a preserved example of the fortified habitat of the French Vexin.

The village of Arthies, mentioned from 690 under the name of Artegiae, also houses an 11th century Romanesque church and a maladry founded in the 12th century. Its history is marked by the exploitation of millstone, sent to Paris, and by a persistent agricultural vocation, especially for cereal crops and once for cherries.

Arthies' toponymy could go back to a Gallic term Are-tegia ("near houses"), although its interpretation remains uncertain. The site, occupied since Roman times, preserves traces of an ancient villa discovered during the construction of the deviation of the National Highway 183 in 2014.

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