Château de Beaulieu

The Château de Beaulieu (also known locally as the maison de maître de Beaulieu) is a historic country house located in Héric, in the Loire-Atlantique department of the Pays de la Loire region in western France, a few kilometres north of Nantes.

The present building dates from the late 18th or early 19th century. It is a typical “maison de maître” of the period, set in a park and originally surrounded by a stone enclosure wall with two wrought-iron entrance gates and a tree-lined avenue. The estate once included numerous outbuildings — stables, a bread oven, a wine press, a cellar, a bakery and pigsties — some of which have since disappeared. A small chapel (now demolished) and a wrought-iron footbridge over the neighbouring stream also formed part of the property. From the upper balcony, on clear days, one could see the steeples of Héric and Casson as well as the surrounding countryside.

The earliest documented transaction dates from August 1822, when the house was sold by candle auction. From 1890 to 1922 it belonged to a Nantes doctor. In the 1930s it was acquired by Émile Busson, a cattle merchant; it later passed to his daughters and was sold around the 1950s. It then became the property of the Ferré family; Bernard Ferré was born and lived there until 1973. The château stood empty from 2007 to 2016 before being purchased by Martial Chapeau, who undertook major renovation works.

Today the Domaine de Beaulieu functions as a private events venue. The renovated house offers reception spaces, guest rooms and a park of several hectares, and is used for weddings, seminars and other gatherings.