Château de Levéville or Levesville, one of the

Châteaux of the Loire Valley The châteaux of the Loire Valley () are part of the architectural heritage of the historic towns of Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, Montsoreau, Orléans, Saumur, and Tours along the river Loire in France. They illustrate Renaissance ideals of des ...

, is situated in

Bailleau-l'Évêque Bailleau-l'Évêque () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Population Sights Bois de Bailleau-l'Évêque (fauna and flora), the Château de Levesville (end of 15th century), the Château de Bailleau (a 12th-centur ...

on the outskirts of

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

in the

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.department of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The castle was built in the 15th century and remodelled in the 17th and later centuries.

History

The

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 ...

stands on a plateau above the city of Chartres. The first owners, whose name was Levéville (Levoisvilla, Levaisvilla or Levesvilla), were mentioned at the end of the 11th century in the

chartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll (''rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the fou ...

of the abbeys of Saint-Père Abbey in Chartres and Notre-Dame de Josaphat in Lèves. As vassals of the Bishops of Chartres, the lords of Leveville were passionate defenders of the early

Dukes of Chartres Originally, the Duchy of Chartres (''duché de Chartres'') was the ''comté'' de Chartres, a County. The title of comte de Chartres thus became duc de Chartres. This duchy–peerage was given by Louis XIV of France to his nephew, Philippe II ...

. For more than two centuries, the knights of Leveville were present in the history of Chartres and its region. According to several drawings from the Gaignières collection, the first local noblemen wore suits of armour. It was probably Michel le Vacher who, between 1479 and 1506, ordered a new

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

to be built with the main residential structure encircled by a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

. The courtyard was enclosed by walls, and towers with artillery pieces stood on each side. A second wall protected the castle, the courtyard and moats. There were also several towers and the wall was also encircled by the moat. In April 1656, all the land of Levéville and its surroundings was given the status of a district. Levesville 1696

In July 1610, François III Briçonnet, the reign counselor and administrator of the Paris Chamber of Accounts, became the new owner of the castle. After his marriage to Anne des Landes, the Lady of Magneville, he issued an order for the castle to be reconstructed in the style of Louis XIII. The result was a multicolored brick facade for the right wing. Window dormers and a belfry with a dome on pillars were also erected. Probably two of four towers and a drawbridge were demolished at that time. These two towers were modified into a pavilion with small turrets and loopholes. The couple also built the Mary Magdalene Chapel not far from the castle, because Bailleau Church was two miles away. In 1813, the castle with all the furniture was sold to Nicolas François Barthélémy, former inspector of this area, residing in Paris. After his death the castle was passed to his sons: Edward (1803–1880) and August (1802–1886). According to local traditions, the Barthélémy brothers were told to be close friends of

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

, who made several visits to Levéville. It was rumored he was in love with Madam August, née Pauline de Baltus. Both the Barthélémy brothers resided in Levéville castle, undertaking many improvements between 1860 and 1880. Large slate roofing was replaced by a lighter design. Three central windows on the ground floor provide a view of the facade from the side of the courtyard. Two small oval windows were removed and replaced by three windows in stone. Small apertures were made in the towers. The antechamber was marbled and ornate panels decorated the area in front of each door. Leveville On the Wing

The château was plundered 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 ...

. During the Nazi occupation, the Germans used it as a control center until it was taken by US troops in 1944. After the war, the castle and all its utility structures were leased to the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 1946 to 1956. The new garden was altered in 1971 and it was enlarged by the well-preserved remains of the old garden. Behind the château a lot of hornbeam, yew and shrubbery were planted. A new pond with hornbeam plants was added. In 1976, Château de Levéville was inscribed on the list of ''

monuments historiques () 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, ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

. In 2005, the château was sold to Alexey Semin, the chairman of the board of directors of the ASG Investment group of companies. On the website of the International Antique Institute of ASG, it is possible to make a 3D tour throughout the castle International Antique Institute of ASG
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Notes

Sources

Cercle de recherches genealogiques du Perche-Goiet

GeneaWiki. 28022 - Bailleau-l'Évêque

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau, Levesville Levesville Monuments historiques of Eure-et-Loir Castles in Centre-Val de Loire

History

Notes

Sources

See also

External links