Château de Baudry
CastleHidden Treasure
Château de Baudry, located in Cérelles;Chanceaux-sur-Choisille (Indre-et-Loire), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Castle
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Cérelles;Chanceaux-sur-Choisille, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.4990, 0.7105
- Mérimée Reference
- PA37000045
Tucked away discreetly on the outskirts of the Touraine region, the Château de Baudry, situated between Cérelles and Chanceaux-sur-Choisille, is a listed monument that captivates visitors with its harmonious proportions and the gentle beauty of its natural setting.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Château de Baudry belongs to that family of aristocratic residences that Touraine knows so well how to cultivate: noble houses on a human scale, where elegance is never ostentatious but always present in the design of a mullioned window, the curve of a dovecote or the regularity of a main building flanked by its outbuildings. Situated in the area shared by Cérelles and Chanceaux-sur-Choisille, it is part of a landscape of gentle hedged farmland and rolling hills that characterise the Gâtine tourangelle, just a few leagues from the Choisille valley. What sets Baudry apart from the great fortresses of the Loire is precisely its refined discretion. There are no monumental keeps or excessive Italianate terraces here, but rather a sober, coherent architectural composition, typical of the gentlemen's houses that flourished in Touraine in the 16th and 17th centuries. Successive owners have left their mark without ever breaking the unity of the site, adding a wing here, a staircase there, always in a spirit of continuity. It's an intimate place to visit. Walking around the château, visitors are struck by the quality of the views between the buildings, and by the natural integration of the edifice into its wooded surroundings. Lovers of vernacular civil architecture will find much to admire here: sculpted details, local tufa stone bonding and elaborate dormer windows testify to the care taken with every detail. The verdant setting, halfway between Tours and the Château-Renault forest, gives Baudry a restful, authentic atmosphere, far removed from the mass tourist circuits. It's a château to be experienced, to be contemplated slowly, ideal for anyone seeking to understand the depths of Touraine beyond the great royal châteaux.
Architecture
Château de Baudry features the architecture of a gentleman's residence typical of the Touraine nobility of the 16th and 17th centuries. The dominant material is tuffeau, the soft, white limestone quarried on the banks of the Loire and its tributaries, which gives the buildings of Touraine their unique luminosity and their ability to accommodate ornamental sculpture with remarkable precision. The steeply pitched roofs, clad in Anjou slate, are the château's other visual signature, forming a striking chromatic contrast between the white of the stone and the blue-black of the roofing. The general layout follows the classic layout of a regional manor house: a rectangular main building, flanked by outbuildings and service quarters that partially enclose a courtyard of honour. Dormers with sculpted pediments punctuate the roof and provide light for the attic space. The stone mullioned and transomed windows bear witness to the influence of the Loire Renaissance, while certain architectural details - the modelling of the frames, the treatment of the corners - evoke the classical vocabulary of the 17th century. The building complex is complemented by features typical of noble country estates: a dovecote signalling the owner's seigneurial status, outbuildings housing agricultural and domestic functions, and a wooded parkland whose composition reflects the successive landscaping styles that have left their mark on the estate. Its integration into the gentle relief of the Gâtine contributes to the overall harmony of the site, making Baudry a coherent example of the art of building in Touraine outside the royal circuits.
Related Figures
Seigneurs médiévaux de Baudry, premiers détenteurs du fief attestés dans les cartulaires tourangeauxPropriétaire bâtisseur du XVIe siècle, commanditaire probable du corps de logis Renaissance visible aujourd'huiFamille noble tourangelle des XVIIe-XVIIIe siècles, ayant assuré la transmission du domaine avant la RévolutionAcquéreur bourgeois du XIXe siècle, artisan de la première grande campagne de restauration post-révolutionnairePropriétaires contemporains, acteurs de l'inscription au titre des Monuments Historiques en 2014
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Château de Baudry located?
Château de Baudry is located in Cérelles;Chanceaux-sur-Choisille, Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Château de Baudry built?
Château de Baudry dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Château de Baudry open to visitors?
Château de Baudry is currently closed to visitors.