The history of Rochebonne

For a holiday in our historical chateau go to www.seasidefrance.com

The first record of Rochebonne dates to 1658, when the property was owned by one Jean d’Arquesson, lawyer to Louis XIV, the famous “Sun King” who built Versailles. However, the dove cote and the upper section of the staircase pre-dates this by 30 years or so, so one can safely assume that the original Chateau de Rochebonne was built in around 1628.

Rochebonne changed hands several times till 1738 when it was inherited by the female line of the Saint Collet family, aristrocratic farmers who were based in the Limoges area.
During the French Revolution in 1789 it was burned to the ground, leaving just the staircase and the dove cote, and some of the old red floor tiles.

The owners, now married in to the Machefert-Herve family, were re-housed in a convent in the village. Their daughter, Adele Senne, was born in the Chateau and was a small child at the time of the fire. It was she who, over fifty years later in 1848, re-built Rochebonne as we see it today.
The new building is about half the size of the original which stretched as far as the cottage behind the white wall (marked “private”) where the old bread oven and scullery area was. The remains of the bread oven, dating to around 1700, are still there. The old stone sink by the palm tree also dates to that period and was taken from that same scullery.

The land stretched as far as the river Seudre, to the south, and up beyond the village to the north, 386 hectares strong.

The three-castle coat-of-arms seems to have been introduced at this time.  Castles are the heraldry symbol for this area (Charente Maritime).  We have found no other reasons for the castle symbol, though there may well have been one.  The heraldry symbol for Chateauneuf is three castles, and there was possibly some family link.  We have modernised the symbol for our own use.

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Adele Herve moved in along with her daughter and son-in-law, Marie and Christian Roye, and their three children. They re-named themselves Roye de Rochebonne. They occupied the middle floor, the top floor never having been finished. With them they had six or seven servants: a couple of maids, a scullery maid, a manservant and a few stable boys. The household servants would have slept at the hearth in the kitchen. The fields were worked by the villagers; in the village archives are a great number of references, spanning two hundred years, referring to the workers of Rochebonne, sometimes called simply Roche.

Adele died in 1851 and the property passed to her son-in-law, Christian Roye. The Roye family remained the owners of the property till the present English owners, the Broughtons, bought it in 1995.

Country life continued peacefully at Rochebonne, with only the slightest interruption during World War 1, till 1933 when Sebastien Roye, grandson of Christian, died and left the property to his sons, Charles and Ludovic. The two brothers (the de Rochebonne appendage to their name seems to have been discontinued at around this time) did not get on and they promptly split the house in to a pair of semis. The garden was divided in to two, and most of the land was sold off. The existing front door served Ludovic, who owned the eastern half of the house, comprising the front of the hall, (where a 1930 staircase went through what is now the mezzanine), the living room and the rooms over it.

Ludovic died during the war, leaving a heavily pregnant wife and a small son. Destitute and alone, the young Madame Roye closed up and returned to her family in Angouleme. Barely a soul entered her part of Rochebonne for very many years.

Charles’ part of the house was briefly occupied by the Germans during WWII. However, that part of the house was barely used either, serving only as a kind of eccentric holiday house for a few weeks in the summer. Slowly and inexorably fading and crumbling it remained largely empty till 1979 when, unwilling and unable to pay for its upkeep, the Roye family put it on the market. It remained for sale for 19 years !!
The Broughtons undertook a massive task in the saving and renovating of the property, and they have undeniably achieved a great feat of which the village is truly proud. From a long distance passers-by can appreciate the regular structural features of this classic style; the interior is sympathetically arranged to suit the needs of holiday-makers while also retaining its charm. Apart from the addition of the bathrooms and the pool, the house remains largely as the 1848 architect intended.

The renovation of the cottages at the Domaine de Rochebonne started several years later. Now forming eight cottages, these were mostly derelict old barns. These extensive old buildings help to date the property because vast quantities of easily-dated farm implements and associated items turned up. The oldest section, the remains of a cottage with mullioned window, pre-dates Jean d’Arquesson, and goes back to about 1560. The owners have achieved a remarkable feat in combining practical modern elements with the ancient features. Now used for holiday lettings they are among the most sought-after in the area.

Belles Demeures.

translated by Catherine Broughton.

To book a holiday in either the chateau or the cottages go to www.seasidefrance.com 

Rochebonne today.  Lots more photos of both chateau and cottages on www.seasidefrance.com

Chateau de Rochebonne living fireplace IMG_0478

Posted on 04/01/2017 by Catherine
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