Château de l'Abrègement

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Abrègement estate, in Bioussac (Charente), may owe its name to a former lodging place on one of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. Owned by the La Rochefoucauld family in the 14th century, it passed through marriage to the Desmier, Volvire and then Massacré families, before Olivier-Mathurin d'Hémery had the original seven-towered castle (1260) replaced in 1750–1751 by a classical residence. In the mid-19th century, the architect Paul Abadie – later the architect of the Sacré-Cœur in Paris – rebuilt the east wing, the central gallery and a Neo-Gothic chapel. Still in the family, whose descendant William Anseau d'Hémery (born in 1988) is today the owner, the estate is open to the public in summer or by appointment; its park, designed by the landscape architect Philippe Dubreuil with Elizabeth d'Hémery and adorned with contemporary sculptures (Andy Goldsworthy, Antony Gormley), has held the "Jardin remarquable" (Remarkable Garden) label since 2009.