Château de Coislin

The Château de Coislin is a historic residence located in Campbon, in the Loire-Atlantique department of the Pays de la Loire region in western France, on the road to Quilly (D100).

It was the seat of the seigneury of Coislin, an important feudal possession in the county of Nantes. The domain passed successively through the families of Musse, Le Guennec, Baye and finally du Cambout. In 1565, during the dismemberment of the Campbon châtellenie, it was acquired by René du Cambout, seigneur de Coislin. This marked the beginning of the rise of the Cambout-Coislin family, linked by marriage to the house of Richelieu (Louise du Plessis de Richelieu, aunt of Cardinal Richelieu, married François du Cambout).

In 1634 Louis XIII erected the seigneuries of Coislin, Quilly and the Campbon châtellenie into a marquisate. In 1663 Louis XIV elevated it to a duchy-peerage in favour of Armand du Cambout (godson of Richelieu), with jurisdiction extending as far as the Vilaine. The original feudal castle, dating from the 12th or 13th century, had fallen into ruin by the 18th century.

In 1850 the domain was acquired by Jean-Baptiste Le Cour Grandmaison, son of a Nantes shipowner. In 1894 he built the present château on the foundations of the old feudal structure, while retaining several ancient elements: the substructures of two towers, a porch in shell limestone that marks the former entrance to the medieval castle, 17th-century stables (capable of housing about a dozen horses), the guardians’ lodging, and a drawbridge that is still in working order. A ducal crown on the lintel of the main doorway recalls the former duchy of Coislin.

The château stands in a wooded park. Fully renovated in recent years (notably in 2015), it is now a private property available for holiday rentals and can accommodate groups of up to 15–17 people. It lies about 30 minutes from both Nantes and the Atlantic beaches of La Baule.