Château de Sceauve

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Sceauve stands in the commune of Chavenon, in the Allier department, about 3 km north-east of the village. The present main residential building dates from the 15th and 16th centuries and rests on older foundations. The land of Sceauve, given in the Early Middle Ages to the Benedictine monks of Souvigny, was held from 1447 by the squire Jehan de Sainct-Haubin. At the beginning of the 17th century it passed by marriage to Claude d'Apchon, then, in 1624, to Jehan de Beaufort and to the Chabannes family, marquesses of La Palisse. In 1672 the estate comprised the château, a house, a courtyard, a farmyard and a chapel. Occupied by tenant farmers in the 18th century, it lost its seigneurial status during the Revolution. The façade features a large Renaissance-style window, while several openings with ogee (accolade) lintels survive, partly concealed at the rear by later buildings. A tower, mentioned in 1782, was razed to ground level to make way for a granary. The moats have now disappeared, but a large pond, the only remnant of the three original bodies of water, still survives. The Château de Sceauve remains a private property.