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Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of the Mothe, located in Vicq in the Allier, finds its origins in the 12th century in the form of a castral wooden motte, surrounded by ditches and protected by palissades. This first building belonged to local lords such as Guibert de Vic, chamberlain of the Duke of Bourbon in 1305. Vicq's family, then Vichy's family, lived there until the middle of the 15th century, marking a feudal period typical of the Bourbonnais, where the castles served as both a seigneurial residence and a strategic defence point.

The stone reconstruction began in 1449 under the impulse of Bertrand d'Arçon, squire and lord of the Motte d'Arçon, replacing the wooden structures with walls and a stone house. His son, Louis d'Arçon, chamberlain of the Duke of Bourbon, completed the work around 1500 and added a chapel dedicated to the Virgin in the local church. This plain castle, bordered by the Veauce River, reflected the increasing influence of noble families linked to the court of the Dukes of Bourbon, as evidenced by the appointment of Louis d'Arçon as captain of Lay in 1516.

In the seventeenth century, the estate passed to the Montrognon de Salvert after its sale in 1632, due to the debts of the heirs of Arçon. Claude de Montrognon, squire de la Dauphine then governor of the king's pages, modernized the castle in the 18th century to make it more comfortable. His marriage to Marie-Andrée Bréveau de Rédemont, niece of André Le Nôtre, illustrates the links between the bourbonese aristocracy and the court of Versailles. However, the French Revolution marked a decline: in 1794, the "signs of feudality" were partially destroyed, and the castle, which had been abandoned for 80 years, deteriorated sharply.

In the 20th century, architect Louis Imbert bought and restored the castle in 1919, restoring its original appearance. Open to visits at the end of the 20th century, it presented historical reconstructions with mannequins in suit, before being privatized in 2022. Today, the castle of the Mothe, classified as a historical monument since 1945, bears witness to nearly 800 years of history, from feudal mottes to aristocratic transformations and revolutionary upheavals.

Architecturally, the estate consists of a three-tiered main house, surrounded by commons and moats fed by the Veauce. Access is via a square tower with a stone bridge, replacing an old drawbridge. The inner courtyard, organized around a staircase with screws, retains defensive elements of the 15th century, while the wooden galleries recall the 18th century layouts. This mix of styles makes it a rare example of Bourbon castle having passed through the eras without major destruction.

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