Tea at Trianon: Château du Bouilh

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, October 14, 2019

Château du Bouilh

The crescent-shaped Château du Bouilh

The medieval tower of the family of La Tour du Pin

Here is an article about the home of the La Tour du Pin Gouvernet family. Comte Jean-Frédéric de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet was the father-in-law of Lucie Dillon, Madame de la Tour du Pin, who was a lady-in-waiting to Marie-Antoinette. From The Daily Mail:

The half-moon shaped 'Château du Bouilh', boasting 30 bedrooms and a courtroom privy to the secrets of Marie Antoinette, was built in 1786 for Jean-Frédéric de La Tour du Pin Gouvernet, lieutenant general of the armies of king Louis XVI, who wanted a castle grand enough to welcome his friend, the ruler of France.

Neoclassical in design, some of the inner plans for the build were never completed after Jean-Frédéric was appointed minister of war and five years later, in 1794, sent to the guillotine. Following his death, the stunning castle went forgotten by all except its admirers and those closest to the family. Nonetheless, the Bouilh remains one of the jewels of 18th century architecture and, with roots going back to the Middle Ages, represents a unique piece of French history for one wealthy buyer.

'The main logis has not been lived in for nearly a century,' says Linda Matthew, the agent representing the home for Leggett who told Messynessychic that the castle isn't just one building but rather a compound of structures and follies that span back hundreds and even thousands of years in some cases.

'The chateau has been in two families since its construction by Jean-Frédéric de La Tour du Pin, [and] owned the estate from 1524,' said Linda. 'The reason for the sale,' she says, 'is that the current family cannot afford to run and maintain the château.'

The elegant crescent-shaped building that still stands today was built largely in the 18th century after Jean-Frédéric invited his friend King Louis XVI to visit him in the south of France. 'But there's no château to welcome me!' he said of his friend's then modest home. So Jean-Frédéric started working with the architect who designed the famous Grand Theater of Bordeaux and ordered a castle with two main building connected by a grand main gallery. (Read more.)