Château du Jonchet

The Château du Jonchet[lower-alpha 1] is a French Renaissance château located on the banks of the Aigre River in the former commune of Romilly-sur-Aigre (which merged into the new commune of Cloyes-les-Trois-Rivières in 2017) in the Eure-et-Loir department in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, in northern France.[2]

Château du Jonchet
Château du Jonchet, c. 1900-1920
LocationRomilly-sur-Aigre, France
Coordinates47°02′57″N 0°18′30″E
ArchitectGabriel de Lestrade
Architectural style(s)French Renaissance
Designated1984
Location of Château du Jonchet in France

The château was built in the sixteenth century, before being completely transformed by the King's architect Gabriel de Lestrade in the eighteenth century. The château was restored by Fernand Pouillon before it was owned by Roger Bellon and Hubert de Givenchy, who owned the château until his death in 2018.[3]

The château has been classified as historical monuments since 18 October 1984.[4]

History

The French Renaissance-style château dates from the sixteenth century. In the 18th century, it was transformed by the King's architect Gabriel de Lestrade, who notably built the staircase of Louis-Hilaire du Bouchet, Comte de Sourches.[5][6] Lestrade, a collaborator of the King's architect, Ange-Jacques Gabriel, later built the Château de Sourches for Louis II of Bouchet de Sourches, Marquis de Sourches, Comte de Montsoreau, Grand Prévôt de France, Prévôt de l'hôtel du Roi.[7]

The château later became the property of Count Lionel de Tarragon (uncle of the sculptor Cyril de La Patellière). Following the end of World War II, the château was badly damaged during the 1950s, but was completely restored by its next owner, the architect Fernand Pouillon.[8] The château then became the property of Roger Bellon, owner of the French pharmaceutical house Laboratoire Roger Bellon,[9] and mayor of Romilly-sur-Aigre. Aristotle Onassis and his partner Maria Callas considered purchasing the château shortly in the early 1960s around the time his divorce was finalized from his first wife Tina.[10]

Givenchy years

In the early 1970's, the château was acquired by French the couturier Count Hubert de Givenchy (a younger son of Lucien Taffin de Givenchy, Marquis of Givenchy),[11] who owned it with his partner Philippe Venet, until Givenchy's death in 2018.[1] Under Givenchy's ownership, the property featured "labyrinthine boxwood hedges and topiary inspired by the monastery of San Giorgio in Venice, a rose garden designed by the late Bunny Mellon, a greenhouse, an artificial lake, a private chapel, a moat filled with water from the Loire, an indoor pool, and a dog cemetery."[12]

The monument has been classified as a historical monument since October 8, 1984.[13]

References
Notes
  1. The château is also referred to as "Le Jonchet" or the "Manoir du Jonchet."[1]
Sources
  1. Owens, Mitchell (August 6, 2018). "Hubert de Givenchy's Manoir du Jonchet Is as Breathtaking as His Designs". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  2. Bordas, Jean Baptiste (1851). Chorographie du Dunois, ou, Notice sur les villes, bourgs, fiefs, justices, chateaux, maisons de campagne de quelque importance qui y sont renfermés (in French). A. Lecesne. p. 175. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  3. Wilson, Eric (12 March 2018). "Hubert de Givenchy Dies at 91; Fashion Pillar of Romantic Elegance (Published 2018)". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  4. "Château du Jonchet". www.pop.culture.gouv.fr. Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  5. Cars (Duc des Cars), Francois Joseph De Pereusse Des (1887). Le Chateau de Sourches Au Maine Et Ses Seigneurs (in French). ISBN 978-0-341-51872-3. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  6. Pattou, Etienne (2015). "Maison du Bouchet, du Bouchet de Sourches" (PDF). racineshistoire.free.fr. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. Ress, Paul Evan (25 June 1961). "THE CHATEAU DE MONTAL, A RENAISSANCE JEWEL". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  8. Pouillon, Fernand (2015). Mémoires d'un architecte (in French). Média Diffusion. p. 376. ISBN 978-2-02-129160-5. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  9. Annual Reports in Medicinal Chemistry. Academic Press. 1986. p. 331. ISBN 978-0-08-058365-5. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  10. Huffington, Arianna Stassinopoulos (2002). Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-8154-1228-1. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  11. Connie Roff, Who's Who: Hubert de Givenchy, Vogue, 11 November 2011
  12. "Chez Givenchy: Le Jonchet Revisited | Cristopher Worthland Interiors". theartoftheroom. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  13. ROSÉLINE (19 February 2016). "At Home With: Hubert de Givenchy, Château du Jonchet, France :". This Is Glamorous. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
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