En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de l'Ébaupinay (or Ébaupinaye), at Le Breuil-sous-Argenton, in the commune of Argentonnay (Deux-Sèvres), is a former feudal fortress in the late Gothic style built between the 14th and 15th centuries. It has five elegant towers flanking a square main building, dormer windows with triangular pediments, a crenellated wall-walk and water-filled moats on its north and east sides; an inner courtyard contained guard towers and a gateway that have since disappeared. At the end of the 15th century, the estate belonged to the lord of Vendel. A fire set in January 1794 by the troops of Colonel Grignon is traditionally cited, although the heritage architect Stéphane Berhault disputes this account, considering rather that the building was methodically stripped of its materials (roof timbers, floors) for local construction. Listed as a historic monument in 1898, it belonged to the Corbière family from the 19th century onwards before being bought in 2019 through a crowdfunding campaign (Dartagnans platform) that brought together 10,261 donors; it was put back on the market in 2024.
