Château de Soubeyran

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Soubeyran is located in the commune of Saint-Barthélemy-Grozon, in the Ardèche. The Soubeyran family occupied this fortified house from the 15th century onwards; it later divided into two branches, that of Montgiraud, which died out in the early 19th century, and that of Saint-Prix, which is still represented. Among its members was Hector de Soubeyran de Saint-Prix, judge at the criminal court of the Ardèche and deputy for the Ardèche during the Revolution. The estate remained in the cadet branch of the family until 1838, and was then bought back in 1906 by Alfred de Soubeyran, chief engineer of mines. In 1947, it was acquired by the Fédération des Œuvres Laïques de l'Ardèche, which set up a holiday camp there, then, from 1949, a secular children's home that became a medical-educational institute caring for young people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities. The castle comprises a tower crowned with machicolations and crenellations, pierced by mullioned windows with ogee arches, as well as a square tower and a sentry box, which give it an archaic character. The estate extends over a 21-hectare park planted notably with giant sequoias. Still in institutional use today, the castle is private property and cannot be visited.