The Château de Bayers is a historic

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

that is located in the commune of Bayers (which merged into the new commune,

Aunac-sur-Charente Aunac-sur-Charente (, literally ''Aunac on Charente'') is a commune in the department of Charente, southwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes of Aunac (the seat), Bayers and Chenom ...

, in 2017), in the French department of

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...

in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

region. The château overlooks the

river and is about north of

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

History

A fortified quadrangular castle existed in the 11th century, built to monitor a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

across the

. It was partially destroyed during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

. In 1295, the land of Bayers (pronounced "bay") passed to a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the La Rochefoucauld family. In the 15th century, Guillaume de La Rochefoucauld converted the medieval fortress into the current château beginning in 1434. His descendants, thereafter called de La Rochefoucauld-Bayers, constructed a

French garden The French formal garden, also called the , is a style of "landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century ...

on a terrace overlooking the river in the 17th century.

Guy André Pierre de Montmorency-Laval Guy-André-Pierre de Montmorency-Laval (21 September 1723 – 22 September 1798), 1st Duke of Laval, 1st Baron of Marche, Marquis of Lezay, was a French general and Marshal of France. Early life Montmorency-Laval was born at the Château de B ...

, 1st Duke of Laval, was born at the château in 1723. After the death of the Marquis of Bayers in 1745, the last La Rochefoucauld owner, Marie-Louise-Françoise de La Rochefoucauld-Bayers, sold the château, by then already in a state of disrepair, to the governor of

Angoumois Angoumois (), historically the County of Angoulême, was a county and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of Aquitaine, similar to the Périgord to its east but lower and generally less forested, equally with occasional ...

, Jean-Michel Delage, in 1788. Delage died in 1793 before being able to restore the château. In 1803, after the French Revolution, his widow sold the divided estate and château to various owners. After years without maintenance, the château fell into ruin during the 19th and first half of the 20th century. In 1950, the penultimate owner bought the château in its entirety, but his sudden death led to the residence being sealed. In 1976, the château was opened and put up for sale again. It was bought by the current owners who intended to restore it. By 1986, after several restoration campaigns, the restoration of the château and remaining buildings was completed. The main building is rectangular and is situated parallel to the Charente. At its corner is a large round

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

tower topped with a conical roof of flat tiles. The façade has a square staircase tower and a polygonal staircase tower, on the courtyard side.

Monument historique

The château was partially designated as a ''

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' on 18 September 1989. All the buildings constituting the château were included on 22 April 2003 and the old garden, orangery and the surrounding walls a year later on 22 April 2004.

Gallery

Bayers ch1.JPG, View from the east Bayers ch2.JPG, View from the south Bayers ch3.JPG, The entrance Bayers eg1.JPG, Church of Notre-Dame

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayers, Château De Châteaux in Charente Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Monuments historiques of Charente Buildings and structures completed in 1434

History

Monument historique

Gallery

See also

References

External links