En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de Chatelars, in Meursac in Charente-Maritime, is first mentioned in 1411, although its history may go back to the 1360s. The du Gua family held it for about two centuries before it passed in the 17th century to the Voyer de Paulmy — among them Marie-Diane Joubert, governess to the children of Louis XIV — who used it as a little-maintained income property. Sold in 1753 to Louis Daulnis, then in 1810 to the priest Jean-Baptiste Bigot, it passed in 1885 to Marguerite-Thérèse Montaury and Jean-Baptiste-Émile Payen, then in 1927 to Émile-Jacques-Marie-Louis Rouyer-Guillet. The château, which still retains a very medieval appearance, underwent three successive restoration campaigns: in the early 20th century under Marguerite-Thérèse Montaury, in 1929 under the direction of the architect Michel Bridet, and in 1948 under André Morisseau. It is listed (inscrit) as a historic monument.