En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de la Roche Faton, in Lhoumois (Deux-Sèvres), dates back to the 12th century, its first documented mention dating from 1179 under Guy de la Rochefaton, the first known lord. Destroyed and burned in 1417 by Picard troops during the civil war between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians, it was rebuilt in the 15th–16th centuries at the initiative of the Pidoux family, who acquired it in 1544; of Parisian and Italian origin, this family received King Charles IX and Catherine de' Medici there in 1565. The de Vassé family later added French formal gardens and carried out interior renovations. In 1797, General Charles-Marie-Auguste de Beaumont, the future Count of Autichamp, married the last Vassé heiress. The château is now inhabited by the descendants of the de la Chevalerie family. Defensive in plan, it features two round towers framing the entrance gate, crowned by a machicolated wall-walk, and a three-storey main residential building (corps de logis) built of granite and local limestone; a 17th-century chapel, originating from a former priory dedicated to Saint Nicholas, adjoins the building. Guided tours of the exterior are offered by telephone reservation.
