Château de Lierville
CastleHidden Treasure
Château de Lierville, located in Verdes (Loir-et-Cher), 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
- Verdes, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.9344, 1.4143
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00125370
Renaissance Château de Lierville, in the heart of the Beauce blaisoise region: two majestic wings punctuated by towers, a medieval past reinterpreted and Gothic alterations that make it a fascinating witness to the metamorphoses of French taste.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Set in the gentle farmland of the Beauce region, on the outskirts of Verdes in Loir-et-Cher, Château de Lierville belongs to a family of stately homes that have never sought flashy fame, but whose every stone conceals centuries of silent transformations. Built in the 16th century on the ambitious plan of a fortified castle with four wings and four towers, Lierville is the embodiment of three great periods in French architectural taste: the robustness of the Renaissance, the classical order of the 18th century and the neo-Gothic reverie of the 19th century. What makes Lierville truly unique is precisely this story of gradual disappearance: of its four original wings, only two have survived, each bearing the scars and successive embellishments of the families who succeeded them. The rear facade of the west wing still preserves the discreet remains of the original entrance châtelet, like a memory buried beneath the plaster. A close look at these elevations reveals a rich architectural stratigraphy that is rare for a monument of this size. A walk around the château is like taking a trip back in time: the finely sculpted stone dormers recall the grace of the eighteenth century, while certain details of the modenature betray the romantic enthusiasm of the 1830s. The courtyard of honour, opened up in the Age of Enlightenment by the demolition of the north-west wing, gives the whole complex a new breadth and clarity, transforming a castle-fortress into a residence of representation. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1993, Lierville remains a confidential address, far from the crowds that invade the great residences of the Loire Valley. This is its most precious charm: that of a place that has to be earned, discovered at the bend in a Beauce road, and whose silhouette of towers and broken roofs stands out against the immense sky of this cereal-growing plain like a perfectly intact stone dream.
Architecture
Château de Lierville today has an L-shaped layout, the remains of an original quadrilateral, two wings of which have disappeared over the centuries. The two wings that have survived - the west wing and the south-east wing - are punctuated by towers that punctuate the corners and junctions, recalling the defensive ambitions of the original 16th-century design. The masonry, typical of buildings in the Beauce blaisoise region, probably combines local tufa limestone and local rubble stone, materials that regional builders had mastered since the Middle Ages. Lierville's most precious architectural feature remains the rear facade of the west wing, where archaeologists can still make out the remains of the original gatehouse. This wing, which has been raised over the centuries, bears the traces of several superimposed construction phases. The stone dormers added in the 18th century add a classical touch to the silhouette, with their pediments and sober mouldings contrasting with the robustness of the towers. All of the facades were symmetrically re-drilled during the same campaign, giving the elevations a regularity that the Renaissance project had not anticipated. The neo-Gothic interventions of the first half of the 19th century can be seen mainly in certain details of the joinery and modenature, characterised by the use of pointed arches and networks imitating the Flamboyant Gothic style. The main courtyard, which has been wide open since the north-west wing was demolished in the eighteenth century, now offers the clearest view of the château's architecture, allowing three centuries of superimposed transformations to be seen at a glance.
Related Figures
Seigneur bâtisseur du XVIe siècle (commanditaire du château fortifié à quatre ailes, identité non documentée)Propriétaire du XVIIIe siècle (commanditaire de la destruction de l'aile nord-ouest et de la création de la cour d'honneur)Propriétaire du premier tiers du XIXe siècle (instigateur des remaniements néo-gothiques et de la suppression de l'aile nord-est après 1836)Architecte ou maître d'œuvre de la campagne classique du XVIIIe siècle (auteur des lucarnes en pierre et du repercé symétrique des façades)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Château de Lierville located?
Château de Lierville is located in Verdes, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Château de Lierville built?
Château de Lierville dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Château de Lierville open to visitors?
Château de Lierville is currently closed to visitors.