Le Château de Rambures is a

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 ...

situated in the '' commune'' of

Rambures Rambures () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Rambures is situated on the D180 and D110 crossroads, some southwest of Abbeville. Apples of the variety named Rambour originated here. Populat ...

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), ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of France. It was constructed in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

in the style of a military fortress of the 15th century and was one of the first castles in Europe to be constructed almost exclusively in bricks. The castle is set in a park, the '' Parc et Roseraie du Château de Rambures'' containing a rose garden and ancient trees. The castle contains very interesting Picardy furniture from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. It has been classified 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, ...

'' 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 ...

since 1927.

Description

The castle is laid out as a square and is composed of eight towers and half-towers. The towers form the corners of the square and are linked by the half-towers. There is a single room on each level of the towers between the basement and the second floor. Communication between the underground level and the second floor is provided by four

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...

s placed in the internal angles of the corner towers. The castle was constructed within a dry

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 ...

and is built largely of brick, a defensive measure against the then new artillery, with some limestone. Located near the frontier between the French and English territories, construction began 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 ...

but it was not complete until after the end of the war.

History

The estate has been passed down by inheritance and through marriage since the 11th century. The Rambures name first appeared in 1058. Famous Rambures include David (1364–1415), Lord Rambures from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

'', and Charles (1572–1633), the so-called "Brave Rambures" who saved the life of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

in 1590.Comité du Tourisme de la Somme ''Domaine du Château Fort de Rambures'', leaflet Successive owners are: ''Seigneurs de Rambures'' * Asson (11th century). * David ( - 1103), son of the preceding. * Jean (12th century), son of the preceding; he married Hawise de Bournonville. * Robinet, son of the preceding; he married Yde de Melun. * Jean, son of the preceding; he married Adeline. * Hugues ( - after 1356), son of the preceding; he married Jeanne de Drucat * Jean ( - 1405), son of the preceding, governor of

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

; his second wife was Jeanne de Bernuy; he died in the attack on the Château de Mercq. * Adrien ( - 1405), son of the preceding, captain of

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

and

Gravelines Gravelines ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord departments of France, department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa (France), Aa southwest of Dunkirk, France, Dunkirk. It was form ...

, Governor of

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

; he married Jeanne de Bernuy; he died with his father at the Château de Mercq. *

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

(1364–1415), son of the preceding, Master of Crossbowmen of France in 1411; he married Catherine d'Auxy; he began the construction of the present castle in 1412, but building was interrupted by his death at the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...

. * André (circa 1395 - after 1449), son of the preceding; he married Péronne de Créquy; in 1429, he commanded a company at

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

; he was killed at the siege of

Pont-Audemer Pont-Audemer () is a commune in the Eure department in the Normandy region in northern France.sénéchal Senechal or Sénéchal may refer to: People * Florian Sénéchal, French racing cyclist * Marjorie Senechal (née Wikler), American mathematician and historian of science * Michel Sénéchal, French tenor * Robert Sénéchal, French industrialist/m ...

and Governor of

Ponthieu Ponthieu (; ; ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville. History Ponthieu p ...

in 1492, grand-master of the waters and forests of Picardy; he married Jeanne de Halluin. * Jean (1500 - after 1558), son of the preceding; in 1538, he married Claude de Bourbon-Vendôme, dame de Ligny. * Jean (1543–1591), son of the preceding; in 1538, he married, for the second time, Françoise d'Anjou, countess of Dammartin. * Charles (1572–1633), son of the preceding; in 1589, he won victory at the

Battle of Arques The Battle of Arques occurred on 15–29 September 1589 between the French royal forces of King Henry IV of France and troops of the Catholic League commanded by Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, during the eighth and final war (1585–159 ...

; in 1590, he saved the life of Henry IV bestowed honours on him and named him « le brave Rambures »; in 1620, he married Renée de Boulainvilliers, dame de Courtenay. ''Marquis de Rambures direct line'' * Charles René (circa 1622 - 1671), comte de Courtenay, son of the preceding; in 1656, he married Marie de Bautru. * Louis Alexandre (1658–1676), son of the preceding; infantry colonel, died age 18 without heir. * Charlotte de Rambures, aunt of the preceding and sister of Charles René, inheritor of the estate; she married in 1645 François de La Roche, marquis de Fontenilles. ''Marquis de Rambures by alliance - family of La Roche Fontenilles'' * François ( - 1728), son of the preceding; in 1683, he married Marie Thérèse de Mesmes. * Louis Antoine (1696–1755), son of the preceding, marshal of the Camps and Armies of the King; in 1735], he married Élisabeth Marguerite de Saint-Georges de Vérac. * Antoine César (1746–1764), son of the preceding, infantry officer. * Pierre Paul Louis (1755–1833), cousin of the preceding and great grandson of François and Charlotte, marshal in 1791; he married Marie Claude Alexandrine Morard d'Arces; he emigrated in 1791. * Adélaïde Honoré César (1786–1868), son of the preceding; in 1833, he married Charlotte Antoinette Thérèse Le Clerc de Juigné. * Léon Alexandre (1835–1920), son of the preceding; in 1859, he married Marie-Thérèse de Chevigné. * Charles Antoine (1839–1930), brother of the preceding; in 1864, he married Louise Amour Marie de Bouillé; these were the last to have the titles of marquis and marquise de Rambures. ''Contemporary epoch'' * Guy, comte de Blanchard ( - 1969), grand-nephew of the preceding; he inherited the estate in 1930. * Charles Henri, comte de Blanchard, adopted son of the preceding; he married Hélène.

Visits

The castle and its park are open to the public from 1 March to mid-November, and during the rest of the year by appointment.

References

''Based on the original article in the French Wikipedia'' ( :fr:Château de Rambures).

Bibliography

* Christine Debrie ''Nicolas Blasset, architecte et sculpteur ordinaire du roi, 1600-1659'', p. 275 on) (1985 - Nouvelles Éditions Latines) * André Borel d'Hauterive ''Annuaire de la noblesse de France et des maisons souveraines de l'Europe'', (1869) * M. le Chevalier de Courcelles ''Dictionnaire historique et biographique des généraux français - Volume 9'', (Paris, 1823)

External links