Château de Champ-la-Lioure

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Champ-la-Lioure, sometimes called the "Le Bijou" château, stands on the industrial estate of Champ-la-Lioure in the commune of Chomérac, in the Ardèche département. Built on the site of a former mill, the estate developed from the 18th century into a vast textile manufacturing centre specialising in silk spinning and throwing, covering about 60 hectares. Its growth was driven in particular by Josué Chabert (1808–1886), who at its height ran some fifteen factories, several of them in the commune of Chomérac, and then by his son Edmond. Besides the workshops and workers' housing, the estate included a school, an orphanage for more than a hundred girls, canals, power-generating installations, stables and a railway branch line opened in 1862. The estate's ornamental park, laid out around a pond, brings together the château known as "Le Bijou", an orangery, a chapel and a post office. During the 20th century the industrial site went on to house Spanish and Belgian refugees during the Second World War, and later German prisoners. The estate remains shared today between descendants of the Chabert family and other owners; an association works to promote this industrial heritage.