Domaine de Champs-sur-Marne

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

Several lords succeeded one another at Champs from the 11th century onwards, from Adam de Champs to Jeanne II de Champs who sold it in 1399 to the d'Orgemont family. Pierre d'Orgemont, chancellor of Charles V, had a hôtel particulier built in 1499-1500, constructed by Claude Fany. After his sister, Louise d'Orgemont, and his son, Claude de Montmorency, the estate became the property of Jean Duval, lord of Dampierre, treasurer of François Ier, who obtained it by exchange. Jean Morin purchased it in 1563, which he exchanged to Jean du Faur de Saint-Jory in 1567; the estate then extended over 26 hectares. The latter sold it to Jean Dugué, tax collector, in 1577. He had a château built, bequeathed to his wife, Anne Leclerc, in 1584, then to his daughter, Anne de Ligny. Purchase by Giulia Savelli in 1604; bequest to her daughter, Catherine de Rambouillet, in 1606. Sale to Guichart Faure in 1607; bequest to his grandson Jules-César II Faure in 1636; bequest to his son, Nicolas Faure de Berlize in 1681. The latter modernised the château by introducing a U-shaped plan and a construction in brick and stone. Purchase in 1699 by Charles Renouard de La Touanne, financier. Charles Renouard de La Touanne commissioned a new residence from Pierre Bullet and his son, Jean-Baptiste Bullet de Chamblain, before the financier was dispossessed of his estate in 1701. Purchase by Paul Poisson de Bourvallais, financier, in 1702. He financed the construction of the present château, whose construction may already have begun. The definitive plans were settled in 1703, construction was completed around 1708. The garden was begun in 1702 from plans by Claude Desgots, great-nephew of André Le Nôtre. The château de Champs established itself as a model of ideal country residence, which balanced reception spaces and living spaces in a quest for greater comfort, which found equilibrium between richness and simplicity, which combined a formal garden and agricultural lands. It was published in several works (Jean Mariette, 1727; Jacques-François Blondel, 1737 and 1771-1777; Charles-Etienne Briseux, 1743; Claude Sauvageot, 1879). Bequest to his niece, Louise-Thérèse Chindré, in 1716, after having gone bankrupt. Purchase by Marie-Anne de Bourbon, princess of Conti, in 1718, who offered it to her cousin, Charles-François de La Baume Le Blanc, duke of La Vallière, while retaining the agricultural parts, which he obtained in 1739. Bequest the same year to his son, Louis-César de La Baume Le Blanc, duke of Vaujours and La Vallière, who commissioned a modification of the gardens from Jean-Charles Garnier d'Isle (son-in-law of Claude Desgots), as well as a modernisation of the interiors in rocaille fashion from Jean Charpentier in 1748. The marquise de Pompadour rented the château between 1757 and 1759, then purchase by Gabriel Michel in 1763, who modernised the interiors. Bequest to his wife, Anne Bernier, in 1765, then to their daughter, Henriette-Françoise, marquise de Marbeuf, who renovated the château and commissioned a picturesque garden from Balthazar Legras in 1792, which included a grotto, built in 1792-1793, with a wooden belvedere thatched with straw now disappeared. A dairy building was designed in 1793 and attributed to Jacques-Guillaume Legrand and Jacques Molinos. Arrested in 1793 and executed in 1794, as were her husband and several members of her family, the château was placed under sequester until 1800. Her nephew, Pierre-Marc-Gaston de Lévis, purchased it at auction in 1801 and repurchased the farm known as Haute-Maison in 1703. He renovated and rearranged the park around 1820 in a picturesque style and had the house of the head gardener built. Bequest to his son in 1830 who sold to Jacques-Maurice Grosjean in 1831. The latter removed the roofing of the château in favour of a balustraded terrace, as well as a keep dating from the duke of La Vallière and the damaged belvedere of the grotto; restored the interior decoration and had new decoration created in the model of the 17th century; created a lake. Purchase by Ernest Santerre in 1858, stock exchange agent, who had restoration work carried out following the occupation by the Prussian army in 1870. Of the four courtyards of the 18th century, two are preserved around the farm to the east and around the orangery and stables to the west. Purchase by Louis Cahen on 5 August 1895 for 1,200,000 francs of which 85,920 francs for the furniture. The estate then extended over 70 hectares. Louis Cahen commissioned work from Walter-André Destailleur, carried out between 1896 and 1898: restoration of the mansard roof and construction of a second storey in the roof space, restoration of decoration, transformation of the chapel into a bedroom, painting of the majority of rooms in white, installation of electrical and running water networks, transformation of wardrobes into bathrooms, construction of a new orangery (the former serving as a storage for vehicles), construction of the complex called La France to the south-west, enlargement of the gardener's house. Henri Duchêne and his son Achille were asked to redesign a formal garden integrated into a picturesque park. At the death of Henri Duchêne in 1902, Destailleur took over from him, drawing inspiration from the plan of gardens published by Mariette, and tended more than his predecessor towards the restoration of an 18th-century state. Construction of the Salon de Madame, installation of statues notably inspired by Versailles under Louis XIV. Louis Cahen requested in 1912 from Destailleur that the stables become a hospital, and during the First World War, a military hospital was indeed installed in the outbuildings. His son, Charles Cahen d'Anvers, inherited the estate in 1922. He carried out some modifications by changing the function of certain rooms, the work being entrusted to Destailleur. Wishing to preserve his estate in a troubled context, he expressed his wish to give his property to the State in 1934. The deed of donation was signed on 9 April 1935, the State officially accepted it by decree on 27 June, the estate was classified as historic monuments on 24 July and the château was classified among the national palaces (BCPN) on 13 August. Charles Cahen d'Anvers subsequently transferred the furnishings on 31 December for 2 million francs; the employees of the estate became civil servants. He also sold in 1948 a plot of land situated on rue Pierre Weczerka, situated opposite the building La France, where are located a boiler room and buildings constructed during the first half of the 20th century. Property of the State, the 85-hectare estate opened to the public and was then rapidly devoted to receiving foreign heads of state, essentially African between 1960 and 1969 (including L. S. Senghor in 1961). Albert Grégoire was responsible for conducting modernisation work; Jean Taralon supervised the furnishing. The estate lost its status as presidential residence in 1971, and was devoted to the ministry of culture, which entrusted its management to the CNMH which became the CMN. The LRMH has been installed in the south-west outbuildings since 1970, of which one building also serves as an office for the UDAP of Seine-et-Marne. The park suffered significant damage during the 1999 storm. The ceiling of the Chinese salon collapsed in 2006 due to the presence of dry rot; it was restored between 2009 and 2013, a period during which restoration work was also carried out following the provisions of Destailleur. Throughout the 20th century the estate was also a favoured filming location.

Description

The château de Champs-sur-Marne is set within a vast estate, consisting of a formal garden surrounded by a picturesque park. The forecourt, divided into four parterres, is surrounded by walls articulated by a series of blind arcatures filled with ivy with in the middle a door with a pediment, and at the extremities pavilions. The front façade presents a projecting central avant-corps between two wings terminated by projecting pavilions. The two levels of elevation of the façade, separated by a band, are articulated by corner chains. A strong cornice emphasises the mansard roof pierced with dormers. The ground floor is pierced with large rectangular openings and the upper storey with openings with a segmental arch. The avant-corps is crowned by a triangular pediment. On the ground floor, two pilasters and two columns of Tuscan order form a peristyle. On the upper storey, four pilasters with Ionic capitals frame the axial window. The rear façade shows the same elevation. The central avant-corps, of rounded form, is open on the ground floor with three round-arch openings. The upper storey is pierced with three rectangular openings; in the centre, a wrought-iron balcony is supported by consoles. A triangular pediment crowns the sculpted attic. The present interior contains rich decoration: overmantels of the dining room painted by Oudry and Desportes, Rocaille woodwork attributed to Verberck, furniture and decoration by Jacob, Aubert, Boudin, Chenevat, Lebas, Van Risenbuburgh and from the Sèvres and Vincennes manufactories.