Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château du Tertre is a Louis XIII style gentilhommière built in the first half of the 17th century at the initiative of Gilles Bry de La Clergerie (circa 1560-1659), President of the Paris Parliament and historian of Perche. Located mainly on the former commune of Sérigny (now Belforêt-en-Perche) and partly on Saint-Martin-du-Vieux-Bellême, it was enlarged under the Empire by Count André-Joseph Abrial. Its park, built in the 17th century and remodeled in an English garden around 1800, incorporates Masonic elements and perspectives opened by Roger Martin du Gard in the 20th century.

Roger Martin du Gard (1881-1958), winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, discovered the castle in 1906 via his future wife, Hélène Foucault. He lived there from 1925 to 1958, receiving major figures from the NRF such as André Gide, André Malraux and Albert Camus. The castle, partially classified as historical monuments, still houses its library and working room, preserved intact. Its 9-hectare park, labeled "Remarkable Garden", mixes floor, wooded massifs, factories (like the Temple of the Philosopher) and statues, including a Diane huntress and contemporary works.

The estate was also a literary inspiration: Martin du Gard described it in The Lieutenant-Colonel of Maumort (uncompleted). In 2014, the castle received the label "Maisons des illustrieux", highlighting its role in French cultural history. Today, private property, it is visited by appointment for interior, while the park remains freely accessible. The Association of Friends of the Tertre, founded in 1996, continues its cultural vocation, in accordance with the wishes of the writer.

Architecturally, the castle consists of a long body of brick and stone houses, bounded with turrets in corbellation, with a dardoise roof. The square courtyard, flanked by 17th century pavilions, houses a contemporary sculpture (The Poet's Table, 1984). On the park side, a 19th century terrace serves the ground floor rooms. The protections for historical monuments cover the facades, the communes (orangerie, stables, guard house dated 1678), as well as the entire park and its facilities (statues, factories, pond, hydraulic ram).

External links