History of the Château de Chazelet
The known origin of the lordship of Chazelet dates back to the 13th century.
According to former archivist Eugène Hubert,
Imbert Gueriti
(said of Gueret)is the first known lord of Chazelet, in 1285.
Jean de Brosse, a member of the powerful Brosse family, succeeds Chazelet at the start of the 100 year war. He was married in 1366 to Alidis de Sacierges, a village close to that of Chazelet.
It was during this period of confrontation between French and English in the 100 year war that in 1369, the lordship of Chazelet became the property ofGuillaume de Lage, captain of the Tour de Vincennes in Paris, in the service of the King of France, who illustrated himself with feats of arms in Limousin or Périgord.
The seigniory of Chazelet remains in the Lage family until 1540: the lords of Lage, their first names Adam, Régnier, Jean, Jean II then Rénier will have succeeded one another.
1540 marks the advent of a new and powerful lord of Chazelet, François Pot, who marries the daughter of Rénier de Lage. This lord will build the castle that we know today, on the site of the old one, part of which remains as the famous archaeologist Elie de Beaufort wrote in the 19th century.
François Pot, backed by the powerful feudal family Pot, obtained from the Lord of Chateauroux the right to "build a castle in Chazellet <sic> like a fortress, with ditches and drawbridge. "
The Château de Chazelet today bears the coat of arms of its builder.
His son François II Pot, lord of Chazelet, wife Gabrielle de Rochechouart, relative of Catherine de Medici, which will visit the region during the wars of religion (presence mentioned in the neighboring village of Saint Benoit du Sault).
Following the marriage of Suzanne Pot in 1555, daughter of François II Pot, with François de la Trémoille, the latter became the new lord of Chazelet. This is how the lordship of Chazelet joined the Trémoille family.
Their youngest daughter Louise de La Trémoille married Guillaume d'Aubusson in 1595, who in turn became the new owner of Chateau de Chazelet. This will be buried on May 17, 1638 in the family vault of the castle chapel (visible today). From this union were born eight children, including three future knights of Malta, Robert, Guillaume and Charles.
It was Charles d'Aubusson, who, after having left the Order of Malta and married Anne Déaux on June 11, 1641, took over from the lordship of Chazelet. Twenty years later, he was buried in the castle chapel on July 16, 1664. Charles d'Aubusson was not the most lenient of the lords of Chazelet: it was indeed at his request, on July 4, 1656, that a lawsuit was brought "to his former butler, Jean de Villatte, who had seduced a young servant of the castle, and had left after having robbed other servants". This story would have given a smile if the culprit had not been condemned to be hanged and strangled.
Of their six children, two daughters Anne-Thérèse-Gabrielle d'Aubusson, then Catherine-Hyacinthe assumed the continuation until the marriage of the latter with François Verthamon in September 1693, It is the family of François Verthamon who will receive the lordship of Chazelet at the disappearance of Catherine-Hyacinthe d'Aubusson.
At the beginning of the 18th century, François Verthamon, Counselor in the Grand Chamber of the Parliament of Paris since 1672, will be the new owner with his family until August 23, 1729, the date of adjudication of the property for the benefit of Louis Magdelon II, Count by Turpin Crissé. François Verthamon was a great bibliophile. He built the library of the Parliament of Paris. His weapons are now visible at the castle.
Married to Françoise de Douhault, the Count of Turpin Crissé will not have children and it is the brother of his wife who inherited the Château de Chazelet. No date specifies the date of disappearance of Françoise Douhault, who seems to have survived her husband, the Count of Turpin Crissé. When Louis-Joseph Douhault took possession of Chazelet around 1760, he married Marie-Adélaïde de Rogres de Lusignan de Champignelle, aka la Marquise de Douhault.
The history of the Marquise de Douhault, who became famous during and after the French Revolution, began in 1766 with the arrest of her husband, the Comte de Turpin Crissé, caught in violence and dementia. He is interned in Charenton after he injured his wife with a sword. As the French revolution looms, the Marquise undertakes a trip to Paris to visit her sister. But, in a mysterious way, this one dies in Orleans of passage in cousins' house, after having smoked tobacco, on May 18, 1789. It is then that a new Marquise de Douhault, resurrected, presents herself at the Château de Chazelet, claiming that she was locked up at La Salpétrière and that her brother organized her disappearance to dispossess her. A long trial will last nearly 40 years and will oppose the advocates of substitution and those who will defend the plot. The fact remains that the new Marquise never recovered its Castle and that this story remains unresolved to this day. Many novelists were inspired by this story including the famous British novelist Wilkie Collins in "The woman in white".
The nephew of the Marquise inherited the Château de Chazelet which he kept until 1825, the date of the castle's cession by his daughter. Louis-Joseph de Douhault was thus the last of the lords of Chazelet.
In 1825, the Château de Chazelet became the property of Count Claude-Pierre Taupinart de Tilière. Property of the Tilière family, the Count of Tilière, then the Marquis de Tilière, and the Marquise de Tilière succeeded each other until 1992. This family left its mark on the village of Chazelet, which had almost 500 inhabitants in the middle of the 19th century.
The castle was bought by a business owner in 1992 who kept it until 2018.
Since 2019, the Château is now owned by a new family, to write the next lines of its History.
