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Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire : "Heiress of Brandon Castle, she wants to reopen it to the public".
Since the health crisis of 2020, Château de Brandon has not been open to the public. Adélaïde de Villèle, who inherited the property, has begun work and hopes to welcome enthusiasts as early as the 2025 Heritage Days.
Adélaïde de Villèle's family, owners of Château de Brandon. Photo Matias Perrin-Demurtas
"We're just one link in a chain. We have to pass on what history has given us. For Adélaïde de Villèle, Château de Brandon, in Saint-Pierre de Varennes, is more than just a historical monument. "It's our family home, where I grew up and where I take my husband and children on vacation. In fact, they're all involved, in their own way, in the renovation.
The biggest project to date took place between October and Christmas 2024: "The chapel was threatened by water infiltration. We had to rebuild a rampart, an old stone wall that was beginning to crumble. We called in the Dijon firm Hory-Marçais, specialists in historic buildings. The operation cost just over €30,000. "Without the help of the Drac (Direction régionale des affaires culturelles) and the Département, we'd never have been able to do it. The work is impressive, but quickly seems modest given the size of the building. "We've got a lifetime's worth of work here," laughs Adélaïde de Villèle.
This castle dates back to the 12th-15th centuries, with some older traces. Photo Matias Perrin-Demurtas
"It's always a bit of a work in progress".
Built on the site of a Gallo-Roman camp, "essentially between the 12th and 15th centuries", the building's diversity is astonishing. Only a small part of the château is inhabitable, but its grounds include an exceptionally well-preserved dovecote. "We are in contact with the CeCaB (Centre de castellologie de Bourgogne), which studies Burgundian fortified housing. Adélaïde de Villèle is naturally interested in the castle's little historical particularities, but she doesn't lose sight of the fact that "it can be a dangerous place. We recently realized, thanks to a cabinetmaker, that the central beam of a building was giving way. We had to carry out emergency consolidation work.
This castle dates back to the 12th-15th centuries, with some older traces. Photo Matias Perrin-Demurtas
Securing the site, "a prerequisite for opening to the public".
"If you don't have a colossal fortune to renovate everything at once, a château is inevitably a bit of a permanent work in progress. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen walls and roofs fall in, and then seen my father repair them." Securing the site is "an absolute imperative before considering opening it to the public". That's why, initially, visits could be "exclusively outside, with the idea of gradually reopening as renovations are carried out." Jacques de Masin , Adelaïde de Villèle's father, has long been responsible for the guided tours. She hopes, in time, to reintroduce an exhibition on heraldry "that he had created himself". The reopening of the château is a long-term project in which she and her husband seem to have no difficulty: "It's a lifestyle choice. Some people like to go skiing or travel abroad, but we look after a château. And they intend to pass it on.
Read the article on www.lejsl.com
By Loïc Masson
Published February 19, 2025
