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Origin and history

The house of Vallade, located in Rétaud in Charente-Maritime, is a castle of the 2nd quarter of the 18th century (1746), built on an ancient archaeological site. It replaces an earlier residence belonging to the Vallade family, mentioned from the beginning of the seventeenth century. The construction was initiated by Henriette Michel, widow of Seguin Gentil, seigneur of Lafond and Rétaud. This modest house, of classic style inspired by the seventeenth century, reflects the taste of the little provincial nobility anxious to manage its lands.

Passed by inheritance to her daughter Eustelle and then to her granddaughter Angélique, the estate is marked by family troubles: Angelique divorce after the emigration of her husband during the Revolution, then remarries with Jean Millon. A long trial led to the seizure of the castle in 1823, awarded to Henri Constant d'Abzac. He gave him in 1844 to Count Jean de Luc (alias Frère Théodore), who turned him into an asylum of Notre-Dame de Vallade for orphans and abandoned children of Charente-Inférieure.

The agricultural colony, described as old and poorly managed by the sub-prefect of Saintes, is closed for financial failure and poor reception conditions (absence of female staff, educational deficiencies). Some mentors are then charged with sexual abuse in another institution. After a new seizure in 1852, the estate was sold to Georges Joseph Picard and acquired in 1890 by the Meaume family. The architecture, marked by reshuffles (loss of a wing and a cochère door), preserves protected elements since 1992: facades, roofs, porches and an interior staircase of the seventeenth century.

The logis, rectangular, presents a stone-cut body on one level, surmounted by attices illuminated by curved or triangular pediments. The axial door, framed with bossed pilasters, supports a triangular pediment. A north pavilion houses a stone staircase with balusters, a likely vestige of an earlier building. The sober style and interior arrangements of the 19th century illustrate its functional evolution, from a seigneurial residence to a controversial charitable establishment.

Ranked a historic monument for its facades, roofs and interior elements, the home of Vallade bears witness to the social and architectural changes of the rural nobility, between classical heritage and utility reallocations. Its history combines family heritage, educational issues and scandals, reflecting the tensions of the period between charity and exploitation.

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