Château des Rieux

En un regard

Le château en bref

Château des Rieux, also known as the Manoir des Rieux, stands at the centre of a fortified hamlet in Saint-Alban-d'Ay, in Ardèche. Built around 1280 as a fortified farm, it became the property of the Tournon family in 1390. It then belonged, during the 14th century, to the lord André Fabry, before passing to the Royraud and Chambonas families. In the 17th century, the estate came to the Deydier family through the marriage of Jean Deydier, a lawyer and notary born in 1607 in Chomerac, to Isabeau de Rieux, who brought it as her dowry. In 1788, a private chapel was fitted out in the keep with the authorisation of the Archbishop of Vienne. In 1885, on the death of his mother, the château became the property of Charles Vachon de Lestra, mayor of Saint-Alban-d'Ay; it has remained in this family line ever since. The present building consists of three main ranges set at right angles, flanked by a large round tower, a quadrangular keep and a turret on a corbel (cul-de-lampe). The original stone gateway was replaced by an iron gate around 1860. A private property, Château des Rieux is not open to visitors.