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Origin and history

The castle of Lalande, located in the department of Yonne in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, is a representative example of architecture of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Built in three phases between the late 16th and late 17th centuries, it combines brick and stone, typical of the Puisaye region. The set includes a central house body, two commons in return for square, a dovecote, moats, a grid and a viewway, although the adjacent farm has been altered over time.

The seigneury of Lalande, mentioned in 1170 under the name Landa, was a fief dependent on the barony of Toucy. In 1585, it was acquired by Loup du Deffand, then erected as a marquisat in 1647 for Louis du Deffand, lieutenant general, on the occasion of his marriage with Anne-Madeleine Brulard. The latter began the construction of a new castle to replace the old genthommière, but died before its completion. Her grandson, Jean-Baptiste du Deffand, married Marie de Vichy-Chamrond in 1718, but the Marquise, a worldly figure, preferred to leave Lalande for Paris, where she hosted a famous salon.

In the 19th century, the castle changed hands: bought in 1809 by the La Celle family, it then passed to the Beaurepaire de Louvagny by marriage, which kept it until 1939. Ranked a historic monument in 2000, the castle today protects its facades, roofs, moats, and elements of the park, testifying to its heritage importance in the Yonne.

The three-phase construction reflects the stylistic evolutions of the era, with a characteristic model combining red brick and limestone. The moats and the dovecote recall its defensive origin, while the perspective and the commons underline its adaptation to the residential uses of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The Marquisat de Lalande, although briefly occupied by its owners, embodies the social transformations of the French aristocracy: passage from seigneurial residences to Parisian salons, as evidenced by the history of Marie de Vichy-Chamrond, Marquise de Lalande, whose literary receptions marked the Enlightenment.

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