Manoir de la Chauvellière
ManorHidden Treasure
Manoir de la Chauvellière, located in Turquant (Maine-et-Loire), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Manor
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Turquant, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.2070, 0.0388
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00109391
Niché dans le Val de Loire troglodytique de Turquant, ce manoir du XVIIIe siècle déploie l'élégance sobre de la pierre de tuffeau, entre façades ordonnancées et jardins en terrasses dominant la Loire.
History
The Manoir de la Chauvellière is set in the unique landscape of the Saumur region, where white tufa stone has dictated domestic architecture and human geography for centuries. Turquant, a troglodyte village par excellence, offers this manor house a natural setting of rare quality: the hollowed-out cliffs, the hillside vineyards and the UNESCO World Heritage Loire Valley make up a picture that few buildings can claim as a backdrop. Built in the 18th century, the manor bears witness to the period of agricultural and wine-growing prosperity that had such a profound effect on the Saumur region. The region's gentlemen, enriched by the wine trade and the development of the land, commissioned beautiful country residences combining bourgeois comfort and social status, halfway between the noble farm and the pleasure house. La Chauvellière is a perfect example of this measured architectural ambition, typical of a refined provincial art of living. A visit to La Chauvellière manor house is first and foremost a chance to immerse yourself in its unspoilt authenticity. It was listed as a Historic Monument in 1973, guaranteeing the protection of an ensemble whose proportions and patina bear witness to remarkable architectural integrity. Lovers of civil architecture will appreciate the coherence of a building programme that has been thought through in its entirety, including outbuildings and living spaces. Turquant's setting adds an extra dimension to the visit: between troglodytic caves housing mushroom beds and wine cellars, and panoramic views over the meandering Loire, the Manoir de la Chauvellière is part of a wider heritage itinerary that makes this listed area so rich. The mild, temperate climate of Anjou, sung of by poets since Du Bellay, envelops the architecture here in a special light that magnifies the whiteness of the tufa.
Architecture
The Manoir de la Chauvellière illustrates the canons of 18th-century Anjou civil architecture, marked by classical sobriety and the almost exclusive use of tuffeau, the soft white limestone quarried from the local cliffs. Easily sculpted but holding up well over time, tuffeau gives the façades that luminous velvety texture so characteristic of the Saumur region. The composition of the manor house follows the typical layout of the main building flanked by outbuildings, forming a functional and harmonious whole organised around an open courtyard or service area. The facades are characterised by a regular arrangement of openings, with small-timbered windows framed by ashlar quoins. The roofs, steeply pitched in the Anjou tradition, are covered in blue slate quarried in Trélazé, near Angers, creating an elegant contrast with the white of the walls. Pedimented dormers interrupt the roof plan, adding an extra verticality to the overall composition. The interiors, in keeping with the bourgeois customs of the time, would have comprised a main living area organised around a central staircase serving the reception rooms on the ground floor and the bedrooms upstairs. Carved tufa stone fireplaces, herringbone parquet flooring and painted panelling are the decorative features expected in this type of well-to-do provincial residence from the reign of Louis XV or Louis XVI. The relationship between the building and its natural surroundings - gardens, orchards, vineyards - plays a full part in the architectural identity of this manor house, which is rooted in its terroir.
Related Figures
Commanditaire inconnu du XVIIIe siècle — propriétaire terrien saumurois ayant fait construire le manoir dans sa forme actuelleRené du Bellay — figure tutélaire de la noblesse angevine dont l'influence architecturale rayonne sur toute la régionJoachim du Bellay — poète angevin (1522-1560) ayant chanté la douceur de son Anjou natal, dont ce manoir perpétue l'espritInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques — ayant instruit et accordé la protection de 1973 reconnaissant la valeur patrimoniale du manoir
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Manoir de la Chauvellière located?
Manoir de la Chauvellière is located in Turquant, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
When was Manoir de la Chauvellière built?
Manoir de la Chauvellière dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Manoir de la Chauvellière open to visitors?
Manoir de la Chauvellière is currently closed to visitors.
