Château de Carheil

The Château de Carheil was a historic château located in the commune of Plessé, in the Loire-Atlantique department of the Pays de la Loire region in western France, about 3 km southwest of the village centre and roughly 45 km northwest of Nantes. The site now forms the private Domaine de Carheil, a large wooded estate of around 285 hectares overlooking the river Isac.

The seigneurie of Carheil is first mentioned at the beginning of the 15th century, when Jeanne de Carheil, daughter of the local lord, married the knight Guillaume Giffart in 1407. In 1619 the estate passed to the du Cambout de Coislin family, who retained it for six generations until 1842. In 1659 the seigneurie was elevated to a viscounty by royal letters. Between 1659 and 1668 René du Cambout replaced the earlier fortified residence with a Louis XIII-style château designed by the architect Gilles Corbineau: a large main building flanked by double pavilions.

In 1842, after the family was ruined by the events of 1832, the domain was purchased by François d’Orléans, Prince de Joinville (son of King Louis-Philippe). He remodelled the château, added terraces along the Isac and built a neo-classical chapel (c. 1842–1848) in white tuffeau stone, with stained-glass windows produced by the Sèvres manufactory after designs by Ingres. Only three such royal chapels from this period are known in the Pays de la Loire.

The château itself was completely destroyed by fire in 1945. The only surviving element is the chapel, which was classified in its entirety (including interior decoration) as a Monument historique on 31 December 1980. The domain is now a private residential estate. The chapel is open to visitors on the first Sunday of each month from April to October and during the European Heritage Days.