Château des Granges

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château des Granges is a former 15th-century fortified house, built around 1468 by Durand Fradet, squire to King Louis XI, in the commune of Escurolles, in the Allier. The building retains a defensive layout typical of the fortified residences of the Bourbonnais: an entrance gatehouse, partial moats still filled with water, arrow slits and several towers, one of them a round tower converted into a dovecote. The buildings are arranged around a rectangular courtyard, combining a main residence with two upper floors and a perpendicular wing served by an internal staircase. Held by the Fradet family until 1586, the estate then passed to Charles de Capony and, under the Ancien Régime, to the de Reclesne family. Its owner at the time of the French Revolution, François de Reclesne, was executed in 1794 as an "enemy of the Revolution". A rectangular barn was added in the 19th century. The château has been listed as a historic monument (inscrit) since 8 March 1983; the protection covers the east and north façades and roofs, the moats with their bridge, and the fireplaces of the two residential buildings. Privately owned, it has housed a craft joinery workshop since 1980, reflecting a contemporary reuse of the site.