The Château de Remaisnil is an 18th-century château situated on the edge of the French village of Remaisnil, in the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

department of

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

. It has been a listed

historical monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

since 1986. Château The house was built in 1760 on the site of a former medieval castle. For centuries, the house and surrounding lands remained in the same noble family, the viscounts de Butler. In the late nineteenth century it came into the possession of Senator Jules Elby, connected by marriage to the Leroy and du Merle families. A member of the Elby family was involved in the design of the

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (, , or , ), short for Métropolitain (), is a rapid transit system serving the Paris metropolitan area in France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architectur ...

, and a white-tiled underground passageway still exists between the château and its former stables. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the château was used by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

as an operations centre and Remaisnil lies close to the Somme battlefields. Following the German invasion of France in 1940 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the house was occupied by the Germans as officers' quarters, and a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

launch site was constructed in the parkland, of which the foundation of part of the launch apparatus is still visible.M. McLachlan, 'Walking with the ANZACS: A guide to Australian battlefields on the Western Front' (Hachette UK, 1 Nov 2010) Following the war the then-dilapidated house was retained by the Elby family until the late 1950s. In the late 1970s, the château was bought by

Laura Ashley Laura Ashley (née Mountney; 7 September 1925 – 17 September 1985) was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She originally made furnishing materials in the 1950s, expanding the business into clothing design and manufacture in the 1960s ...

and her husband, Bernard Ashley, who conducted extensive renovation work on the fabric of the building and re-designed the interiors. In 1987, the château was purchased by Americans Adrian and Susan Doull, who turned it into a hotel and conference centre. It was subsequently re-sold as a hotel, and is now privately owned. Although the traditional estate of the house has been reduced in size, today the château retains 35 acres of parkland. The grounds contain a walled garden, tennis court and swimming pool, and an

English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

designed by Laura Ashley. The house itself has five grand reception rooms, some of which retain decorative features from the reign of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

References

Châteaux in Somme (department) Chateau Remaisnil {{France-castle-stub