Séchelles Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Séchelles Castle stands isolated in the Séchelles wood, at Cuvilly (Oise). In the 13th century the lordship belonged to the Soyencourt family, then to the Corbie and Poix families; Jean de Poix had a first castle built there in 1530, before the estate was confiscated on account of his Protestant faith. In 1715, Jean-Baptiste Moreau, later Moreau de Séchelles and Controller-General of Finances in 1754, acquired the lordship, demolished the old castle and replaced it with the present building, around 1740 according to local history, although accounts mention work around 1752. A pure example of French Classical style, the residence is accompanied by outbuildings and a monumental cylindrical brick dovecote with about 1,500 nesting boxes; of its French formal garden only traces remain. Damaged in 1918 and later restored, and occupied during the Second World War, the castle is today a privately owned property combining a working farm and holiday lets.