Château de Beaufief

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Beaufief, in Mazeray in Charente-Maritime, whose name is locally pronounced "Beaufié", is a 16th-century château rebuilt on a reduced scale in 1768 in the manner of a "folly" with Rococo decoration. The main residence, on a single level beneath a roof of Roman tiles, is organised around a central axis, extended by a pavilion with a triangular pediment (probably added in the 19th century) and by symmetrical curved side wings; a Louis XV-style chapel and a round 17th-century dovecote with dormer windows complete the ensemble, which is surrounded by a French formal garden adorned with eight boxwood balls and then, in the 19th century, by an English-style park planted with Montpellier maples and hornbeam hedges. Owned by the d'Abillon family in the 16th and 17th centuries — including Jean d'Abillon, mayor of Saint-Jean-d'Angély in 1582 — and then by their descendants through marriage until 1768, the estate then passed to René-Joseph-Benoît Perraudeau, king's advocate; his descendant Joseph-Édouard Perraudeau de Beaufief founded the seaside resort of Ronce-les-Bains around 1860. Having passed to the Masson de La Sauzaye (1896) and then Laborde (1922) families, it was restored at the end of the 20th century by Count Jehan Marie de la Tour de Geay and his wife Jacqueline Collieaux. The façades, roofs, wrought-iron staircase, dining-room fireplace, drawing-room panelling and chapel stuccowork are listed as historic monuments; the park is included in the pre-inventory of remarkable gardens. The estate received the Sazerac Cup in 1982 and a "Chefs-d'œuvre en péril" (Masterpieces in Peril) award in 1984. It is not open to visitors.