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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The manor house of the Basses-Rivières, located in Rochecorbon in Indre-et-Loire, is a "crazy" country built around 1730 for the Papion du Château family, silk manufacturers and winemakers. This monument of the 3rd quarter of the 18th century is distinguished by its classical architecture, troglodytic cellars dug in the tuffeau, and its terraced garden offering views of the Loire. The estate was once a farm and a village belonging to Benedictine monks of Marmoutier Abbey from the tenth century.

In 1765, the mansion moved to the Sboureau de Boisdenier family, and then welcomed personalities such as the Marquise d'Oysonville and Jules-Antoine Taschereau. In 1847 he was acquired by William Richmond Nixon, a British officer who had fought Napoleon, whose initials (RN) appeared on the pediment with those of his wife, Thérèse Antoinette Schatteman. Nixon, who died in Rochecorbon in 1861, was buried there. The entrance gate, adorned with religious symbols (tiara, rosary), originally comes from the Convent of the Ladies of the Union-Christian, then from the Baudry Hotel in Tours before being installed here.

In the 20th century, the mansion was bequeathed to the city of Tours by Édouard d'Espelosin, an antique and sculptor, who had inherited it in 1923. Turned into a wine and wine museum (1954-1970), it was later ceded in 1973. Since 2006, the current owners have restored the site, which now offers guest rooms. The facade, the roofs and the park have been classified as historical monuments since 1965, and the garden, labeled "remarkable" in 2022, extends over 1.4 hectares with Mediterranean species and cellars of the 11th and 15th centuries.

The architecture, a work by Pierre Meusnier in 1755, combines a rectangular logis in tuffeau, a triangular pediment decorated with garlands, and skylights. The troglodytic site, the largest in Indre-et-Loire with 35 cavities, bears witness to the local wine and craft history. The microclimate, favoured by the southern exposure and the proximity of the Loire, allows the cultivation of rare species such as fig trees or cedars. The French garden contrasts with the tuffeau cliffs, creating a unique landscape.

The stones extracted to dig the caves were used to build the house, illustrating the ingenuity of the builders. The manor house, symbol of the Tourangeau heritage, embodies both the opulence of the 18th century 'madness', the medieval monastic heritage, and the contemporary adaptation through its tourist and wine vocation.

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