En un regard
Le château en bref
In Avesnes-en-Saosnois, north of Mamers in the Sarthe, the Manoir de Verdigné, also known as the Grande Maison, is a late sixteenth-century residence remarkable for its sophisticated defensive layout. It was built for Yves Tragin, lord of the Plessis d'Avesnes, around 1581 according to the Inventaire, although the design of the windows suggests a construction date after 1590. The main building is flanked by bastioned pavilions; three buildings enclose an inner courtyard, and at the corners of this courtyard four pavilions are pierced with openings for artillery, while moats border the sides. The whole draws on the principles of the architect Philibert de l'Orme, without his having been its author, and one of the wings may have housed a jeu de paume (real tennis court). Long a simple farm depending on the châtellenie of Péray, the manor was restored by a private owner. The buildings, garden and moats have been listed as monuments historiques since 23 December 1997, and the site may be visited by reservation from June to September.