Pierrefontaine Manor

En un regard

Le château en bref

In the hamlet of Pierre Fontaine, in Sainte-Gemmes-le-Robert, this manor in Mayenne occupies a site that was probably fortified as early as the Middle Ages. The present residence was rebuilt in 1540 by Jacques de Bouillé, a younger son of a local family, on older foundations, after the devastation of the Hundred Years' War. A grand exterior stone staircase leads up to the main building, whose entrance is sheltered by a canopy on wooden posts; an octagonal tower pierced with narrow openings recalls the defensive purpose of the site. In 1672, the estate comprised three main buildings, a tower, an enclosed courtyard with a chapel, a dovecote and a garden. Listed as a monument historique in 1925, the manor is a privately owned, restored property, visible from the outside during the Journées du patrimoine.