Purchase of domain 1820 (≈ 1820)
Acquisition by Jean Alexandre Pauquet de Villejust.
1839
Death of owner
Death of owner 1839 (≈ 1839)
Woodcut made after his death.
1841
Construction of the pavilion
Construction of the pavilion 1841 (≈ 1841)
Start of mill extraction and construction.
1932
Added round tower
Added round tower 1932 (≈ 1932)
Amendment by the Ocampo family.
1975
New use
New use 1975 (≈ 1975)
Become a home for pregnant women.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Jean Alexandre Pauquet de Villejust - Initial owner
Buyer of the estate in 1820.
Famille Ocampo - Subsequent owners
The round tower was added in 1932.
Origin and history
Château du Bois-Courtin is a 19th-century building located in Villejust, Essonne department, Île-de-France. Built in a mill, it is distinguished by its overcast, dry roof and a zinc terrace. The estate, acquired in 1820 by Jean Alexandre Pauquet de Villejust, covered 114 hectares of forest crossed by hunting roads. When he died in 1839, a woodcut was made, followed in 1841 by the extraction of open-pit mill, a material used to erect the central pavilion.
The castle was originally designed with a main body flanked by a farm, concierge housing and a shed, complemented by a barn and a courtyard in the park. In 1932, the Ocampo family, then owner, added a round tower on the façade, topped by a bell tower. The building, organized on two levels plus a mansard floor, has three openings per facade, with two lateral advances on the south facade.
Located northwest of Essonne, on the plateau of Courtabeuf, the castle dominates the valley of the Yvette, in the heart of a forest massif bordered by the departmental forests of the Gelles and the Rock of Saulx. In 1975, it became a home for pregnant women, marking a change in its historical use.
