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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of Villeray, located in Sablons-sur-Huisne in Orne, finds its origins in the 11th century as a fortress of the Talvas, lords of Bellême, responsible for controlling the valley of the Huisne against the Norman invasions. Two medieval castles coexisted: Villeray en Asse and Villeray en Jusson. After the victory of the Routrou in 1114, became Counts of the Perch, the fortresses were destroyed in 1428 during the Hundred Years' War, leaving only moat, slope and a tower entrance.

Built in the middle of the 16th century by Gilles de Riantz (advisor to Parliament and master of the king's requests), the castle was erected in Barony in 1593 by Henry IV, then in Marquisat in 1707 with the union of the lands of Comblot and Réveillon. The estate, worth 350,000 pounds of annual rent, dominated over 100 local noble fiefs. Its architecture, made of white stone with two noble floors, was enriched in 1846 by a neo-Renaissance style (floral motifs, medallions) and a park redesigned between 1845 and 1856 by Fauche.

Today a private property, the castle houses a luxury hotel with spa in outbuildings, rooms in the classified village, and a summer restaurant in a 19th century mill. Its facades and roofs, as well as the main staircase, have been classified as Historical Monuments since 2002. The 50-hectare park, designed in the 17th century and modified in the 18th-18th century, retains traces of successive developments.

The site illustrates the evolution of a medieval fortress as a seigneurial residence, then as a hotel estate, while preserving original defensive elements (doves, slope) and architecture combining Renaissance and neo-Renaissance. Its history reflects the strategic stakes of the Perche, between Normands, Counts of Mortagne and French monarchy.

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