Le Château de Briord

The château in its current form dates back to 1770. It was built on the site of a former fortified castle, the moats of which are still visible. Briord castle has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1977.

Seigneury of Briord

In 1225, Lord Séris de Rezay and du Pallet held the lands of Briord and Huguetières: this was the seigneury of Briord. He had the right to three-post justice on his ten estates: in other words, the death penalty.

Pierre Landais, treasurer to the Duke of Brittany, acquired the Briord estate in 1468.
He thus created a magnificent estate.
Three ponds and four driveways were laid out. The defensive features that can still be seen (moat and bridge) date from this period.

In 1725, Jean Charette, a wealthy man from Nantes, married Françoise de Lépinay, the heiress of Briord.
He quickly decided to demolish Pierre Landais' manor house and build a new château.
Near the château, he had a private chapel dedicated to Saint-Germain built by Joseph Charette in 1780.

The castle is surrounded by a deep moat and an imposing tower has been added to the north façade of the former feudal manor.
When Jean Charette died in 1754, he left his estate to his son Joseph.
Joseph, the last lord of Briord, became involved in the French Revolution and died in October 1792.
In 1793, the estate was sequestered, stripped of its furniture and sold as national property.

Jean-Anne Dubois-Viollette, a merchant from Nantes, took possession of the Briord estate in 1800 (in reality, Louise du Cambout de Coislin, daughter of Charette de Briord, was able, with the help of buyers working for her, to reconstitute her estate, which she legally sold to Dubois-Viollette). As an entrepreneur, he ventured into the food canning business, but unfortunately went bankrupt in 1833. That same year, he was forced to sell his land at Briord and take refuge with his neighbour, Aristide Locquet de Grandville.


Briord vineyard

The Briord estate was renowned in the 18th century for its grape variety.
The Charette de Briord family were very good wine-growers. At the time, they owned 36 hand-grown vines.
Harvests were good, yielding around 244 barrels of wine a year. This additional income soon declined, to the despair of Joseph Charette de Briord.

The little extra :

You can also explore the site every month, free of charge, with the owner. To find out more about Briord Castle: Terre de Briord is a major regional historical reconstruction project.





VIDEO FRANCE 3 "TERRE DE BRIORD