Château de la Picauderie

The Château de la Picauderie (also known as the demeure dite château de La Picauderie) is located south of the centre of Thouaré-sur-Loire (department of Loire-Atlantique, region of Pays de la Loire) and faces the Loire directly. In 1638 the lands belonged to Jean Furet, arpenteur du roi. Through the marriage of Jeanne Furet to François d’Avoyne, seigneur de la Jaille, the property passed to the d’Avoyne family. François d’Avoyne died in 1724. It was subsequently acquired by the Barbier family, operators of iron forges in the north of the present department of Loire-Atlantique. For this family the present house was built in 1773 as a so-called “folie nantaise” (country house in the style of the Nantes area), its design attributed to the architect Jean-Baptiste Ceineray. Anne-Marie Barbier married Jean-Olivier de Monti, comte de Rezé. In the 19th century the estate passed to the Senot de la Londe family through the marriage of Laure-Flavie de Monti to Louis Senot de La Londe. Their son Joseph was mayor of Thouaré and a historian. The eldest daughter Marguerite Tinguy inherited the property, which in the 20th century passed by marriage to the Mitard family. It is now owned by a real-estate company. The building has a rectangular plan of seven bays and three storeys (raised ground floor, one full storey and attic). The central bay projects slightly and is crowned by a triangular pediment with an oval oculus. On the south façade (facing the garden and the Loire) the central bay is fully faced in tuffeau, while the north is plastered. The base and entrance steps are in granite; angle chains and openings are framed or bossed in tuffeau. The roof is covered in slate. The logis, garden and small pavilions are oriented towards the river; the outbuildings form a rectangular courtyard to the west. The estate includes a small chapel, a dovecote and an orangery. It is not protected as a Monument Historique. The château is a private residence, has recently been comprehensively restored and is not open to the public.