Château de Tourreau

The château de Tourreau in Sarrians, France, is a country estate erected and altered by the Tourreau family from the early 1600s through the 19th century, with its principal rebuilding carried out in the mid-18th century. Work that produced the present central house took place in the 1700s; that phase, together with later 19th-century additions and 20th-century repairs, mark the site as a longstanding private residence that experienced both revolutionary violence and wartime requisition and was later protected for its heritage value.

In 1612 Paul Tourreau, a wealthy native of Avignon, purchased the estate near the village of Sarrians and established a house and gardens on the grounds. Two years later he had a chapel added, completed with the assistance of his brother-in-law François de Royers de la Valfenière.

A major rebuilding of the main house began in 1748 under François-Bénezet de Tourreau, who replaced the earlier 17th-century dwelling. Construction continued through 1752 and work on the complex continued intermittently until 1779, when François-Paul Bénezet de Tourreau refitted the chapel, an alteration commemorated by the inscription of the year above the chapel entrance. Contemporary records indicate a small permanent workforce during the rebuilding, consisting of several master masons supported by a handful of labourers working each day.

During the French Revolution the building suffered serious violence. On 19 April 1791 the château was looted and part of it set on fire. In 1852 the estate passed into the hands of the Fraisse family, who undertook extensive renovations. They added a two-storey east wing ending in an octagonal brick-clad tower, commissioned sculptural work for the façades, and altered the gardens, replanting them in the English manner then fashionable in landscape design.

At the outset of the Second World War the Meffre family became owners and in 1941 German forces requisitioned the house, causing considerable damage to both the buildings and the park. After the war the diplomat Claude Bréart de Boisanger purchased the domain and carried out substantial rehabilitation to repair wartime losses. He also had a large ornamental basin dug and commissioned an obelisk, designed by Jean Peyrissac, to honour the builders of Tourreau. The estate was placed under legal heritage protection by decree on 12 February 1963. Today the property serves as furnished accommodation and continues to be used for private ceremonies, while the 1963 designation protects significant parts of the fabric and roofscape.