Dating from the 13th century the Chateau de Bagnols
Hotel is set among
vineyards, forests and green hills in the heart of the Beaujolais
countryside in
south eastern France.With its towers, moat , honey coloured stone
known as
Pierre Doree and entrance across a drawbridge, Chateau de Bagnols Hotel
is one
of France's major Historic monuments.
Chateau de Bagnols Hotel offers both the
experience of being a cherished guest
in historic, luxurious and relaxing surroundings as well as an ideal
Venue for
conferences and product launches of the most select and exclusive
nature.
HistoryChâteau de Bagnols across the centuries
The history of the Château, a listed
historical building, can be traced through its architecture: the moat
and mediaeval towers and fortifications reveal its thirteenth century
origins.
The harmony of the courtyard with its golden paving stones,
the classical proportions and the exquisite wall paintings are a legacy
from the Renaissance. The arms of the de Balzac
family, one of the former owners of the Château,
have become the arms of the present day Château de Bagnols: “a silver
helmet with three stars of gold”.
At the dawn of the sixteenth century the
Château has already had several owners, the lords of Oingt, the lords
of Albon, the lords of Balzac, until it is sold to the Camus family,
rich merchants from Lyon.
As a supreme honour, on 30th October 1490,
Charles V111 of France visited Château de Bagnols and to commemorate
this event a crown was carved in the stone fireplace in the Salle des
Gardes. During this troubled period of wars there were no significant
alterations to the Château.
In 1619 Gaspard Dugué, the Treasurer of
France, acquired the Château de Bagnols and transformed it from a
fortress into a gracious country residence. He constructed the
outbuildings and the garden, removed the drawbridge and decorated the
rooms with wall-paintings and tapestries. It was during this time that
Madame de Sevigné, a friend of the Dugué family, stayed at Bagnols. She
mentioned her visit in her famous correspondence.
In 1711, the widow of Gaspard Dugué’s
grandson sold the Château to Barthelemy Hesseler.
During the 18th century the tax on windows was abolished and numerous
bay windows were added to the Château in what was to become its heyday.
At this time Lyon, situated at the crossroads of the great
European cities, was famous for its silk manufacturers. The work of the
silk weavers of Lyon inspired several Italian artists, hence the
Italian influence in the decoration of some of the rooms in the Château.
There were also many itinerant artists and painters who came
to offer their services at the Château de Bagnols, which explains the
great diversity and richness of the wall-paintings.
The French Revolution saw the demise of
many great houses, but once again Bagnols survived. The Salle des
Gardes, today the Château’s restaurant, was a meeting place for some
revolutionaries. The partial destruction of the three “fleur de lys”,
symbol of French royalty, on the top of the fireplace in the Salle des
Gardes, is the lasting reminder of their presence.
The Château was sealed off in 1793 because
its owner, Georges Marie Giraud, was arrested and
imprisoned at Anse, accused of being an opponent of the French
Revolution.
The following year the Château was purchased by Claude
Marie Chavanis, which explains the influence of the “Empire”
style which was very fashionable at that time. The cultivation of wines
in the area surrounding the Château was developed to the extent that
Bagnols became a”wine-growing estate” in the nineteenth century.
The Morand de Jouffray, the du Chevalard and the de Chavanes
families subsequently all made their contribution to the Château, both
historically and architecturally.
The passion and dedication of Lord and Lady Hamlyn,
who acquired the Château in 1987, enabled the transformation of the
Château, after four years of painstaking restoration, into the unique
hotel it is today.
Since then, the Château has been restored to
its former glory and offers its clients a unique journey through the
history of France.