Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Villeneuve Castle, located in Chailland, Mayenne, was a fief dependent on Montenay, offering seigneurial rights as a bench, burial and liter in the local church. As early as the 16th century, the estate included a mansion, avenues, mills and ponds, as described by Hubert Jaillot. The Cassini Map adds a forge and a village, reflecting its economic and social importance.

In the 18th century, the forges of Villeneuve, owned by the seigneur of Mayenne, replaced those of Andouillé and remained active until the early 19th century. Buildings and machinery remained in 1832. In 1723, Joseph de Meaulne, seigneur of the site, sold the mill to Pierre-Joseph Moraine, a lawyer at Laval, illustrating the transactions related to the estate's infrastructure.

The old castle, probably from the 18th century, was composed of two bodies of asymmetric houses connected by a pavilion. It was demolished at the end of the 19th century to give way to modern construction. The archives mention farmhouses, woods and metallurgical activities, highlighting the diversity of resources in the field.

Historical sources, such as Abbé Angot's work or parish records, confirm the site's seniority and its central role in the region. Forges, ponds and seigneurial rights made it a strategic place, both for the local economy and for the social hierarchy of the Ancien Régime.

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