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Origin and history

The castle of La Boissière, often confused with the manor of Saint-Christophe, is a medieval fortress located 500 metres from the village of La Boissière, in Mayenne (Pays de la Loire). Its origin dates back to the 12th century, where it was only a watch tower built near a ford on the Cheran, serving to defend the Duchy ofAnjou against Brittany. Access to the floors was then made by internal ladders, reflecting its purely military use.

In the 14th century, the tower was enlarged southward, becoming a real castle with a large room per floor and a turret staircase. A filling tower is added at the end of this century, giving it its current square shape and integrating latrines. At that time, the site was occupied by the English between 1356 and 1361, highlighting its strategic role. The moat, still visible today, provided its defence, while an adjacent rampart, aladen in the seventeenth century, will give way to a farm.

The castle, linked to the castle of Savonnières and then reunited with that of Coulonges in 1764, was a seigneurial domain including farmhouses, mills and feudal rights. In the 17th century, it became a residence for shawls or farmers, as evidenced by the archives mentioning Renée Marcillé (died 1612) or the farmers Simon Gasset and René Vallot. noble families, such as the Dangennes, stayed there, including Jacques d'Angennes in 1550. Ranked a historic monument in 1987, there remains a private property that is open on an ad hoc basis.

A major archaeological discovery took place around 1860: René-Jean Pommerais, justice of the peace in Craon, discovered a megalithic enclosure in the Fontenelles field, near the castle. This prehistoric site adds a mysterious dimension to the site's history, although its direct link to the mansion remains undocumented.

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