| That evening,
the room accommodated a concert by a local soprano and mandolin player.
There is also another stone staircase which leads down to a large "cave"
(wine cellar).
In the right
wing, a modernized kitchen sits to one side of a spacious dining room,
followed by a large salon, each room restored perfectly to its original
condition and style, each accompanied by a sixteenth century open fireplace,
one with a bread oven, originally designed to heat that entire wing of
the building. There are also additional guestrooms in this wing and on
the second level is a large room currently under renovation for receptions.
The current owners, Paola Butler and Peter Johnston, both expatriates from
England who work for international companies, were fortunate to acquire
most of the original furniture when they purchased the château 10
years ago.
There was
a fortified château at Ranton more than a thousand years ago.
About 1340, at the beginning of the Hundred Years War, the squire of Ranton,
Guillaume de Gourmont, undertook to rebuild the existing fort. The main
towers and the ramparts that are still the remarkable feature of the château
were built then. In 1631, the second major set of alterations was made
to the château, adding the older of the two towers, which is typical
of this period. The château was abandoned during the French Revolution
and in 1862, the chapel, dedicated to St. Leonard, was given to the town
of Ranton to serve as the parish church. By 1889 the château was
still habitable, but much was little more than a ruin. One of the main
towers of the entrance collapsed in 1942 and it wasn't until 1964 that
its newest owners began renovation.
Le Château
de Ranton has been impeccably restored by the dedication and hard work
of its current owners. Hoards of locals, who had never seen beyond
the exterior walls, came to investigate the castle that gorgeous Sunday
of Les Journées du Patrimoine. Mr. Johnston gleefully led groups
around the rampart and through the rooms, wearing the sign of pride on
his big smile as he recounted the fascinating history. Ms. Butler chatted
with her guests and discussed the relics and furnishings, which adorn the
rooms. I wasn't the only one enchanted that day – everyone who passed through
its beautiful gates was, too.
The Monday
following Les Journées du Patrimoine, we rose early to head
to Le Château de Saint-Loup to meet with Count Charles-Henri Bartillat,
present owner of the castle. Monsieur Bartillat was an attorney in Paris
before purchasing Saint-Loup from a cousin and devoting his life to the
complete and perfect restoration of its buildings and gardens. The château
was also open to the public for the Heritage Days. Saint-Loup Lamairé
is a charming small town only forty-five minutes drive from Poitiers.
The château
sits behind a low stone wall and after entering a small unassuming door
in the wall, we were taken aback by the view of the immense grandeur
of the château and its medieval Keep at one corner, a château
on its own accord. Enormous gilded gates and wrought iron fence border
the gardens. Just outside, pumpkins and squash grown in its own "potager"
(vegetable garden) were on sale outside the gate. A sweet-tempered
Golden Retriever lounged in the sun near the steps of the castle; his tiny
house sat next to the Keep signed "Boni."
The main castle
is 2,500 square meters – a perfect example of Henri IV and Louis XIII style,
built in the seventeenth century by the Gouffier family. The Black Prince
imprisoned John the Good in the medieval Keep which now has expansive guestrooms
with stained glass windows and luxurious baths. Guests can admire the pigeonnier,
attend a concert in the converted stables or use the newly built reception
space (accommodates 400 people) for special events. Seven further
guestrooms will be available in the main castle very soon.
One kilometer
from the castle at the end of a tree-lined canal, a small pavilion for
intimate dining spans the canal – one of the most romantic spots I've ever
come across. On the property is Monsieur Bartillat's true pride and joy:
an "Orangerie." Within the walls of the Orangerie, we enjoyed the
perfection of the layout --geometric patterns of hedges and shrubs, orange
trees in square tubs and Anduze vases, jasmine, bougainvillea. There are
some fifty specimens of seventeen different varieties of citrus plants
representing the Garden of Eden. The potager is also currently being
restored, based on the exact plans from 1745. Vegetables and flowers are
set out in fifteen squares and six rectangles with each season as beautiful
as the next. There is also a fruit orchard that was replanted in 1997 following
the list of plants from the eighteenth century. There are 305 trees: apples,
cherries, peach, almonds, pears and apricots and more.
Unfortunately,
our time did not allow us the pleasure of visiting Le Château de
Tennessus this trip. According to Linda and the information provided
on its Web site, it is a remarkably authentic fourteenth century castle
complete with moat, working drawbridge, arrow-slits and battlements. No
one knows who built the original Keep at Tennessus. The first known mention
of the "tower, fortress, lodging, and village" is in a document
dating from 1404, when it was owned, in his wife's name, by Challot des
Près, lord of Fontenioux-Rolland. Its fortifications offered too
valuable a means of resistance for it not to become embroiled in the Wars
of Religion. A party of Catholics quartered themselves there in 1590 and
established links with the Catholics of Poitiers. They were dislodged from
Tennessus only in January 1591, at the same time as others were expelled
from the Château de Saint-Loup. The château itself was condemned
to demolition on March 25, 1793, but this important monument fortunately
escaped, as the orders of the decree were never executed. After a number
of changes of ownership during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
the château again seemed destined for ruin, but in 1960 the sculptor,
Dominique Piéchaud, undertook a number of urgent works of salvage
and restoration In 1989, Tennessus fell into the hands of British owners,
Pippa and Nick Freeland, who plan to continue the major restoration program
and have opened to the public this magnificent testimony to the Middle
Ages.
Like Ranton,
it is decorated in true medieval style; yet its lodgings offer accommodations
with all the modern comforts and facilities. The bed and breakfast rooms
are located in the Keep, the oldest part of the castle, and are reached
by a steep spiral staircase. They are enormous and virtually unchanged
from the fourteenth century. The southwest wing of the château is
a completely self-contained apartment which sleeps five people and comprises
the original gatehouse and west tower. Guests may also enjoy the tranquil
grounds of the château, to boat and fish in the moat or to use the
swimming pool.
Linda and I
returned to Paris by AutoRoute, a sure and fast way back to our every-day
lives, but not a very enchanting one. When the weekend was over, it all
seemed like a dream. Maybe it really was.
Adrian B.
Leeds writes from Paris - She is the author of Leeds Good Value Guide
to Paris Restaurants. She also hosts an excellent website from France which
may be accessed at:http://www.wfi.fr/leeds
More information
about these châteaux and how to make reservations can be obtained
directly from their Web sites or by contacting WebFrance International.
WebFrance
International
http://www.wfi.fr
thalman@wfi.fr
33 (0) 1 60
12 05 65
Château
de la Guillonnière
http://www.wfi.fr/guillonniere/
Château
de Ranton
http://www.wfi.fr/ranton/
Château
de Tennessus
http://www.tennessus.com
Château
de Saint-Loup
Web site in
progress |
