Château du duc d'Épernon

The Château du duc d'Épernon is a castle located in Fontenay-Trésigny, in the Brie region, 43 km southeast of Paris. The castle is located on the Bréon creek, in front of the Saint-Martin church in the heart of the once walled old town. The history of the town is closely linked to the history of the castle. The castellans were lords of Fontenay en Brie during the Old Regime.

The castle has been classified as Monument historique since October 7, 1963. The park is recorded in the pre-inventory of remarkable gardens.

Architectural description
The architecture of the castle is marked by the different eras when it was rebuilt after falling more or less in ruins, with different styles. The medieval castle rebuilt by Jean Le Mercier after 1389 was enclosed by walls and moat around a courtyard with two drawbridges, north facing the church and south. The current building has retained the rectangular plan flanked by round towers. Guillaume Prudhomme undertook to rebuild the castle after 1538.

The Château du duc d'Épernon itself date from the first half of the 17th century. The castle, built by Jean de Nogaret de La Valette becomes a pleasure palace. The apartments are comfortable, decorated with tapestries and paintings. The ground floor and the guard room are covered with large glazed tiles.

The castle was then incorporated in the walled town. A French garden was on either side of the castle to the north and south. A channel was fed by the Bréon river, with two geometrically arranged arms extending from moat, the eastern branch that was the longest joined a pool downstream of the farm of Sourdeau. A large fenced park crossed by wide avenues was located south. A long north-south perspective started from the walled town, passing by the castle and its garden and through the park.

The castle did not undergo major changes before the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. The Marquis de Gontaut-Biron, the owner in 1837, restored the body, the main building, the side body and the two subsequent rounds, but to open the courtyard, he pulled down the entrance body with its turrets, drawbridge, and corner towers that housed the gothic chapel and prison. The gardens and the old farm are landscaped leisure park.

The facades and roofs as well as the room adorned with painted paneling on the ground floor are categorized as Monument historique by ministerial decree of October 7, 1963. The buildings including the three levels dovecote, the courtyard soil and moat are registered as Monument historique by ministerial decree of October 17, 1991.

History
The castle of Fontenay is mentioned in the 12th century under the reign of Louis VI of France. It threatens to ruin.

The original castle was built on a strategic site, on the way to Rome (a pilgrimage road from Paris, which continued to Troyes by Rozay-en-Brie and Provins and probably used by traders who traveled to the famous Champagne Fairs and pilgrims. The lord perceived a toll to pass through his domain ), on the Bréon creek (which fed the moat) upstream of the valley (which housed the castle of Vivier with a road) in the edge of royal lands against the Champagne County (Rozay-en-Brie and Bernay-Vilbert were then in Champagne land, separated from Fontenay by the woods of Lumigny, Bernay and Vilbert). The land is in the Garland family movement from the 12th century until 1293.

In May 1293, Jean de Garlande sells the Tournan castellany to Pierre VI de Chambly said "The Fat", Grand Chamberlain of Philip IV of France. The Tournan castellany is sold in October 1293 to Charles, Count of Valois. The Tournan castellany then gradually dismembered and belonged to different lords.

In 1389, Charles VI donated by letters patent the land of Fontenay to his adviser Jean Le Mercier, knight, lord of Noviant, Neuville and Rugles with permission to rebuild the old castle which fell into ruin. Two years later, the new castle was standing with audience of justice and prisons. The castle was surrounded by walls and moat around a courtyard with two drawbridges, north facing the church and south. The current building has retained the rectangular plan flanked by round towers.

The castle then passed into the family of Coutes through inheritance. Around 1446, Louis de Coutes said Minguet, son of John de Coutes, page boy of Joan of Arc then squire and lord of Fontenay en Brie, Viry, Neelle la Gilleberde, etc., in joint with his siblings Jean de Coutes said Minguet, Raoul de Coutes, Jeanne de Coutes and Anne de Coutes transports the usufruct to Denis du Moulin, then bishop of Paris. October 1, 1451, Jean du Moulin, son of Denis de Moulin, cupbearer of the king, receives power from the king to restore the castle, land and lordship of Fontenay en Brie, the Fleur de Lis hotel, the hotel of Sourdeau, those of Viry and Escoubley, he newly acquired from Louis de Coutes.

In 1538, Guillaume Prudhomme began to rebuild the castle of Fontenay. The fortifications of Fontenay en Brie are built at that time.

In 1570, Jean de Nogaret de La Valette is the new owner of the castle. He received Charles IX of France and Catherine de' Medici. In 1571, Charles IX invites the Protestant leaders in Fontenay en Brie. Secret meetings were held at the castle of Lumigny, between Protestant leaders – including the Admiral Coligny, Condé and Nassau – and envoys of Charles IX and Catherine de' Medici, who stayed in Fontenay en Brie. Coligny was assassinated a year later in Paris, during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.

In 1575, on the death of his father, Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette future Duke of Épernon in November 1581, became lord of Fontenay en Brie.

The castle of Fontenay en Brie is the scene of many events and receives famous figures like Henri III, which will be remembered magnificent festivities on the occasion of his marriage, or Richelieu who is hosted in 1633. During the first half of the 17th century, building of the Château du duc d'Épernon on the site of the old medieval castle. The castle became a pleasure palace. The apartments are comfortable, decorated with tapestries and paintings. The ground floor and the guard room are covered with large glazed tiles.

In 1640, Pierre Aubert de Fontenay, secretary of the King's Chamber, General Treasurer of Artillery, head of the Ferme générale of the Gabelle of salt from 1632 to 1656, went purchaser of the land of Fontenay in Brie sold by the Duke of Épernon. One of his relatives, Roger de Pardaillan de Gondrin, Marquis of Termes, a relative of the Marquis de Montespan, was suspected of counterfeiting in the castle of Fontenay. After the arrest of Nicolas Fouquet in 1661, Pierre Aubert de Fontenay was in a difficult financial situation. In 1663, his property in Paris and Fontenay en Brie were confiscated. At his death in 1668, his creditors and his family embark on a lengthy procedure for the distribution of the assets of the estate. In January 1669, Marie Chastelain, Pierre Aubert's widow, donated to Roger de Pardaillan de Gondrin and his wife Marie Chastelain, portion of all her movable and immovable property including the castle of Fontenay. In 1674, Roger de Pardaillan de Gondrin and his wife Marie Chastelain managed to be recognized by arrest the temporary property of the lordship of Fontenay en Brie.

In May 1689, the land of Fontenay en Brie is acquired by François Le Tonnelier, Count of Breteuil, with release of the bishop of Meaux Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet and Lord of Tournan Henry Beringhen. Son of a councilor of state, François Le Tonnelier was successively advisor to the parliament (1661), Master of Appeals (1671), steward in Picardie and Artois (1674) and Flanders (1683), and finally intendant of the army during the 1684 campaign, before becoming the same year, intendant des finances. He had been a semester councilor of State in 1685. In February 1691, Fontenay en Brie is erected as marquisat of Fontenay-Trésigny in favor of François Le Tonnelier, count of Breteuil. The marquis represents an annuity of 10 000 francs. He then has two parishes that depend on: Chapels-Breteuil and Villebert. This is a bailiwick, whithin the competence of the Grand Châtelet in Paris. François Victor Le Tonnelier de Breteuil is Marquis of Fontenay-Trésigny, Lord of Villebert, Baron of Boitron, Lord of Les Chapelles, etc. commander of the King's orders, Chancellor of the Queen, minister and Secretary of State for War.

The Duke of Crillon acquired the domain in 1751, but sells it to Jean Baptiste Paulin d'Aguesseau, lord of Fresnes, Earl of Compans-la-Ville and Maligny, Marquis of Manoeuvre, an officer of the Order of the Holy Spirit in 1772, regular state councilor, son of the Chancellor of France Henri François d'Aguesseau, which leases the castle. February 25, 1755, the Duke of Ayen, eldest son of Marshal Louis de Noailles, became owner of the castle of Fontenay and the château de la Grange-Bléneau by his marriage with Henriette Anne Louise d'Aguesseau, daughter of Jean-Baptiste Paulin d'Aguesseau.

Succeed in the castle until the French Revolution the Marquis Louis of Santo Domingo who died there in 1775, the Marquis de La Chèze who was captain-lieutenant of the first company of the Musketeers of the Guard, Mr. de Rostaing and the Count Claude Théophile Gilbert Jean-Baptiste de Colbert-Chabanais who died there in September 1789. In 1795, Marie Adrienne Francoise de Noailles, miss of Ayen, Marquise de La Fayette, daughter of the Duke of Ayen, is authorized to house some time in the castle of Fontenay, before leaving for Olmütz where her husband Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette is locked up.

In 1799, the family of the Marquis de La Fayette moved to the castle of Fontenay in his return from exile, the time to complete the repairs undertaken in the château de la Grange-Bléneau, destroyed and rendered uninhabitable.

In 1808, Anne Pauline Dominique de Noailles, miss of Maintenon, Marquise of Montagu, daughter of the Duke of Ayen, inherited the castle that is assigned by amicably sharing. She repaired the house and made it his main residence. She moved his family and open a school for girls in the grounds of the property. She died January 29, 1839. His daughters Stéphanie de Montagu-Beaune (1798–1874), Marie Anna de Montagu-Beaune (1801–1877) et Marie Paule Sophie de Montagu-Beaune (1805–1880) married in Fontenay-Trésigny and have their first children.

In 1837, the Marquis of Gontaut-Biron bought the castle of Fontenay. He restore restored the body, the main building, the side body and the two subsequent rounds, but to open the courtyard, he pulled down the input body with its turrets, a drawbridge, and corner towers that housed the gothic chapel and prison. The gardens and the old farm are landscaped leisure park. The castle was abandoned after the death of Étienne-Charles de Gontaut-Biron in 1871, before being sold.

In August 1883, the castle of Fontenay and its lands were purchased by Mr. Nicolas Menget, shoes manufacturer for the army.

In 1926, the castle of Fontenay is taken over by a timber merchant, Mr. Daubek who cut down the splendid trees of the park.

In 1936, Mr. Lucien Tasse, accountant, bought the property.

In the 1940s, the castle of Fontenay is occupied by youth camps. Abandoned by their owners to benefit dependency, more convenient and less expensive apartments have long served as a warehouse.

In 2006, the castle of Fontenay was sold by Mr. Samuel Tasse to a real estate company specialized in historical monuments. The project including 12 apartments in the castle and 48 apartments in the buildings was not brought to completion due to the liquidation of the developer in 2014.

Status of the castle
The castle and grounds are privately owned and are not open to the public. The castle is abandoned and the park is overgrown.

The building already at the state of neglect in the 1950s, works of art were transferred to the museum of the Château de Vincennes. The building has been largely stripped over time.

The Château du duc d'Épernon, at the heart of a real estate program now interrupted, is slowly crumbling. The damages are very important. The roof of the three levels dovecote, was however restored. The outbuildings began to be restored before the work is interrupted.

The classified building which hosted for centuries Kings and Queens, servants of the Kingdom of France, artists, is in danger and requires urgent intervention from investors or patrons to be saved.