Château d'Asson

The Château d’Asson is a historic château located in the commune of La Boissière-de-Montaigu, in the Vendée department of the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It stands south of a pond fed by the Asson stream, which marks the boundary with the neighbouring commune of Treize-Septiers and gives the estate its name.

A seigneurie of some importance already existed at Asson by the end of the 14th century. A partition act of 1406 describes the “noble place, hôtel and hébergement d’Asson” in the parish of La Boissière and the châtellenie of Montaigu, together with its farms, orchards, warren, dovecote, pond, woods, meadows and lands. The estate later belonged to a branch of the Caradreux family and passed by marriage in 1566 to the Baudry family, founding the Baudry d’Asson line. In the 17th century it was a fortified house surrounded by moats and equipped with drawbridges.

The present château was largely rebuilt between 1778 and 1784 by Esprit Armand Baudry d’Asson and his wife Pélagie d’Escoubleau; the date 1784 appears on one of the pavilions. Although constructed in the late 18th century, its style recalls the 17th century, possibly reflecting provincial taste or the influence of Versailles. The building consists of a long main range with a raised ground floor containing the reception rooms, an upper storey and a mansarded attic floor. It incorporates a pavilion from the earlier château, a chapel and an ordered park; the pond serves as a natural moat.

The château was partially burned during the Wars of the Vendée and was rebuilt around 1807 by the Mauclerc family, who were linked to the estate by marriage. Members of both the Baudry d’Asson and Mauclerc families served as mayors of the commune in the early 19th century. The property remained associated with the Baudry d’Asson family for many generations.

The façades and roofs of the château and of the pavilion of the old château, the chapel and the ordered park were inscribed as a Monument historique on 1 April 1986. The château is private property.