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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Chastenay Manor House, located in Arcy-sur-Cure, Yonne, is an iconic building combining Renaissance and medieval styles. Built in the 16th century on the foundations of an older residence (XI or 14th century), it is distinguished by its quadrilateral enclosure flanked by round towers, including a dovecote, and a facade decorated with a turret in corbellation. The site, crossed by Via Agrippa and a road to Compostela, is based on a network of flooded underground caves, adding to its mystery. Alchemical symbols, carved or painted, suggest its use as a place of esoteric studies in medieval times, according to Gabriel de La Varende, former owner.

The medieval chapel, destroyed during the Reformation or transformed into a barn, left remains like a gate up at the entrance to the garden. The mansion preserves a 14th century ogival cellar and a hexagonal stairwell (St John's Tower), accessible by the Sages Gate, topped by three busts. The woodwork on the ground floor, adorned with biblical paintings, and the left wing of the eighteenth century, rebuilt around 1850 by a student of Viollet-le-Duc, testify to its architectural evolution. A neo-Renaissance pavilion was added in 1875.

The manor is linked to a legend of the 16th century: Philippe de Loron, Protestant lord, allegedly hid a loot from Saint-Germain d'Auxerre Abbey in 1567. A servant, knowing the location of the treasure, would have had the grated language to prevent her from speaking, an episode confirmed by judicial archives. No trace of the treasure was found despite excavations. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1971 (façades, roofs, enclosures), the mansion was restored from 1972 under the impulse of Gabriel de La Varende, who acquired it in 1966 then in ruins.

Since the 14th century, the owners have succeeded each other, from the Geoffroy and Digogne families (1314) to the Chastenay Loron, and then to the Stutt d'Assay (from 1687). In the 19th century, the Berger du Sablon family, then the Mallard de La Varende, marked its history. Although closed to the public, the mansion attracts attention for its architectural heritage and mysteries, while its underground caves remain accessible.

The restoration of the 20th century preserved the Renaissance and medieval elements, but the absence of confirmed treasure and successive transformations (such as the destruction of the chapel) highlighted the shortcomings of its history. Gabriel de La Varende's research, recorded in An Alchemical Home (1982), and local studies (like those of Abbé Parat in 1914) document his past, between historical reality and persistent legends.

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