Verneuil-en-Halatte (, literally ''Verneuil in Halatte'') is a commune in the

Oise Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...

department in northern France. The organist and composer Joseph Boulnois (1884–1918) was born in Verneuil-en-Halatte.

History

Verneuil was originally a Seigneury. Philippe IV de Boulainvilliers, Seigneur of Verneuil, started the construction of a castle in 1558, but fell short of funds and ended up selling the unfinished castle to

Jacques, Duke of Nemours Jacques de Savoie, duc de Nemours (12 October 153115 June 1585) was a French military commander, governor and Prince étranger, Prince Étranger. Having inherited his titles at a young age, Nemours fought for king Henri II of France, Henri II duri ...

in 1575. He continued the construction but work stopped again after his death in 1585. The castle was finally sold to king Henry IV in 1599, who offered it to his mistress

Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues, Marquise de Verneuil (1579–1633) was the favourite mistress of Henry IV of France after Gabrielle d'Estrées died: her sister Marie-Charlotte de Balzac d’Entragues was also a mistress of the king. ...

, raising the grounds to a

marquisate A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

and thus making her the Marquise de Verneuil en Beauvoisis. Upon the death of the Marquise (1633), the castle came into the hands of her son,

Henri, Duke of Verneuil Gaston Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Verneuil (3 November 1601 – 28 May 1682), was the Diocese of Metz, bishop of Metz from 1612 to 1652, despite not being ordained. In his early 50s he was displaced and had a career as a diplomat. Biography Henr ...

. The grounds were raised again to a duchy-peerage by king

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

in 1652, granting Henri the title of Duke of Verneuil. He kept the castle until his death in 1682, after it was passed on to his widow, Charlotte Séguier. Upon her death, it was sold to

Henri Jules, Prince of Condé Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...

. His successor,

Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (Louis Henri Joseph; 18 August 1692 – 27 January 1740), was a French nobleman and politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1723 to 1726. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a '' p ...

, no longer made use of the castle, causing it to fall into decay. Maintenance to the grounds was finally stopped in 1724 and the pillaging of the castle started around 1734, with stone being recovered for improving the

Château de Chantilly The Château de Chantilly () is a historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Paris. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château, built around 1560 for Anne de Montmore ...

Population

References

Communes of Oise {{SenlisArrondissement-geo-stub

History

Population

See also

References