Château de Charnes

The property is organized around an entrance gateway that opens onto a forecourt, with service buildings grouped around this central space and the main residence set back from the approach. The principal dwelling is a four-sided residential block flanked at its corners by square turrets capped with distinctive imperial-style roofs that terminate in polygonal slate lanterns. In the north turret a winding stone stair survives and represents the remains of the earlier living quarters, perhaps dating to the sixteenth century.

The outbuildings preserve several dated structures. A granary retains a chestnut roof frame fashioned in an inverted-boat-keel profile and bears the year 1617, showing timber construction techniques of that period. A small chapel on the estate carries the date 1720 and stands among the service range. The dovecote remains equipped with its access ladder and contains 213 nesting holes, demonstrating its continued function and the manner in which pigeons were accommodated.

Outside the main gate the lower courtyard gave access to La Réserve, which stands on the bases of the late fifteenth-century square tower; a half-timbered lean-to is attached to that building. On the first floor of La Réserve a large square room survives, lit by a mullioned window and centered on a substantial fireplace, and it is historically known as the “chambre du Connétable.” Facing the entrance is a historic watering pond called the Canal, which was used to water animals of the lower courtyard and from whose far side the whole ensemble can be viewed. To the north a walled orchard adjoins the house, while the rear of the residence looks over a terraced formal garden created in 1840 and, beyond it, the secondary pond added in 2005. The various elements described above remain visible on the site and document its long sequence of use and modification.