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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Manse Pavilion, also known as the Princes' Mill, was built in 1678 by the Prince of Condé, Louis XIV's cousin, to house a hydraulic machine intended to supply the Great Waters of Chantilly Park. Designed by Jacques de Manse and Jules Hardouin Mansart, this machine, contemporary of Marly's in Versailles, raised the water of the Nonette to 25 meters high via a wooden wheel and bronze pumps, supplying the fountains and basins designed by Le Nôtre. However, the machine, with a flow rate of 1,500 m3 per day, did not allow for a permanent supply of water.

During the Revolution, Chantilly became a national estate, and the machine was municipalized. The appendices to the pavilion were integrated into industrial activities, such as the porcelain factory led by Christophe Potter (1792-1806), followed by a cotton mill and a painted canvas factory run by Richard-Lenoir (1808-1822). These changes marked the shift from hydraulic to industrial, reflecting the economic upheavals of the time.

In the 19th century, the Duke of Aumale, son of Louis-Philippe, modernized the site by installing a new hydraulic machine in 1840, then a turbine in 1870. A drilling of more than 100 metres was carried out to supply the castle with drinking water, and a mechanized laundry, among the most modern of the period, was added in 1885. The activity of the pavilion finally ceased in 1987, before its classification as a Historic Monument in 1989.

The 17th century machine was rebuilt and inaugurated in 2005 thanks to a dedicated association, while the outside of the pavilion was restored between 2009 and 2011 under the aegis of the Institut de France, owner of the estate. Today, the Manse Pavilion is visited and bears witness to the hydraulic ingenuity of centuries past, as well as the industrial adaptations that marked its history.

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