Chambray Castle
Chambray Castle
History
The first known castle was first a primitive manor under Simon I, who was the first lord of Chambray. But Simon II did not finish the work to modify it into a feudal mansion. A chapel was also built in 1239, on the site of the current chapel.
The mansion was strengthened and became a stronghold, acting as a ford on the line of Iton, during the beginning of the Hundred Years War. Halfway between the English Normandy (until 1449) and the county of Chartres of the kingdom of France. It was strongly degraded between 1430 and 1450. The big tower located in the northeast is the only big rest of this time.
The current castle of Chambray is dated at the beginning of the 15th century: from 1450 to 1500 under Jean III, who participated in the siege of Orleans with Joan of Arc; and his son John IV, participating with Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry the Battle, father-in-law of Francis I. We can see pink brick and white stone: clearly the castle is slowly transformed into a vacation home without losing its appearance and its defensive function. From this time, it remains: the gatehouse west entrance, round towers (remodeled around the nineteenth), the loft in the common and kitchens in the basement. The towers belonged to a fortified enclosure, now destroyed as a whole.
It was at this time that the current chapel was built, in the years 1490 - 1500. In a very sober style, a white mass with stone facade offers a portal in the center lowered, framed by Gothic moldings. A statue of Saint Laurent, patron of the place, adorns the entrance gate of the chapel.
The castle undergoes important changes in the 16th century. In 1578, Baron Gabriel de Chambray, lord of Chambray in 1560, will design the new modifications on the occasion of his marriage with Jeanne d'Angennes. But he did not begin work until 1590. It was above the lower wing, where the kitchens were, that the work was done. A facade with seven windows is completed by a set of two towers, with an extension with two pavilions. Five skylights adorn the roof. Two busts of Nicolas de Chambray and his wife, Bonaventure de Prunelé, complete the decoration of the ensemble.
But in the eighteenth, the castle of the fifteenth is destroyed by order of Nicolas François de Chambray, which will isolate the chapel. He built in 1740 the little Carthusian monastery, where he finishes his last ten years, after the violent death of one of his sons (January 31, 1734: Jacques-François is killed by two poachers in the park of the castle to the 18 years old). He razed some of the remaining curtain walls on the south and west sides, and moved the busts of Nicolas de Chambray and his wife Bonaventure de Prunelé.
During the Revolution, the castle was looted, and the estate of 400 hectares divided into several lots and sold in 1794.
Jacques de Chambray, who took part in the Chuan wars and later served under Bonaparte, returned to Chambray in 1802-1803. He was able to buy a large part of the estate and began the restoration of the castle. He bought the presbytery and had the church of Gouville rebuilt (the one we can see now). Between 1810 and 1825, he built: the castle farm, the farms of Aigremont in 1821, the Cormier in 1825, and the mill of Varenne in 1825.
His descendant, Jacques de Chambray (known as the "Great Huntsman"), built the north-east cylindrical tower, the north-west Angle pavilion on 16th-century basements, and the corner pavilions (with domes in the shape of a hunting helmet), framing the south facade which he had adorned with high mullioned dormers in 1835. He suppressed the sacristy of the chapel and had it replaced by a marble copy of the tomb, erected at the Saint-Germain cathedral. Jean de La Valette in Malta, Jacques-Francois de Chambray, said the Bailli de Chambray, vice-admiral of the Order of Malta and younger brother of Nicolas-Francois. He never lived in the castle, however.
After the destruction of the last curtain wall, he placed the bronze statue of the 1000th deer of the crew of Chambray. He did not stop there since he took 2466 ... unique in the history of the hunt.
Montjoye.net
