Chateau Le Quesnel (aka Chateau Secession) France - April 2016
I know, I know, I saw your eyes roll at the sight of yet another Urbex tourbus Chateau Secession report with the same bit of history and same old pics! But Ive not posted anything here for a while and thought fuck it, there are still less reports on this than there are on Cameltoeland!!
For those of you who know me, most of my time in France is spent grubbing around either in the Catas or various other quarries or mines, so to actually be above ground was a bit of a novelty and a first for me.
The plans for this trip changed so many times I lost track of what we were and weren't doing. Chateau Secession was mentioned and we thought it would be a nice little bimble on the way back to the ferry - if time allowed. What you have to realise here, is that us actually managing to see this is something of an epic feat, simply for the fact that we never make it back to Calais in time and inevitably miss our designated ferry and have to be bumped on to the later one! So to not only make our original ferry and have time to stop off and see this on the way is one hell of an achievement for us!
After a cracking weekend in Paris visiting a few mines, spending time in the Catas and having probably had around a total of 6 hours sleep over the whole weekend, it was nice to not be rushing back last minute and having time to have a chilled out mooch here.
This trips limo crew consisted of me, @Bigjobs , AndyJ UK, @Motionless Escapes and his missus, @The Kwan , The Riddlers and @merryprankster.
History (Well as good as I can make out from the unfathomable source available!)
The chateau was owned by the Knightly family of Quesnel in the twelfth century, there appears to be a couple more owners before the lordship fell to Jean Le Fevre Lord in Ponthieu in the sixteenth century. At the end of the century Renee Le Fevre de Caumartin married Jerome Le Maistre Bellejamme, who was the advisor to the Parliament of Paris. Their son Louis Le Maistre, achieved Lordship of Quesnel in 1637. His son Jerome Picard forsook the land to the Parliament of Paris and his grandson Henri-Louis, whom was also an advisor of Parliament got rid of Quesnel in the early 1700s. It is also noted that in 1636 the castle suffered looting committed by the Imperialists.
The property was purchased by Jean Fort, who married Married Marie Damiens, daughter of Bartholomew, Lord of Acheux. It was after his death in 1751 that his son Jean-Baptiste built the foundation of the present chateau. Dated 1753 the chateau was built from white stone with animated chain crosswalls across the central front building. The angles of the side pavilions were elegant and this was reflected in the curved path of the outbuildings enclosing the courtyard.
In 1806 marie-Charlotte Fort Quesnel married Alexander Viscount Blin de Bourdon and their son Charles settled in Quesnel and transformed the chateau in 1853. In the west he carved key windows, and unfortunately compromised the balance of facades by adding a second floor which was loaded with large skylights, balustrades and arms created by the Duthoit Brothers. He also retraced the park into a presentable landscape.
In 1914, during the war, the village of Quesnel was fortunate enough to be away from the front lines, however this did not prevent the chateau being occupied. On 31 August 1914, the chateau was occupied by the Germans, it was damaged by bombings and ransacked by the troops.
After the war Viscount Bourdon Blin restored the chateau and gave it to his daughter the Countess of Lussac. After the Second World War the property remained uninhabited and was sold in 1985.
Today the chateau is deserted and is in poor condition. Its current owner is a lawyer whose practice is in Paris.
So anyway here are a few pics that you will all have seen before in one report or another (just a little cropped by comparison as I dont have a wide angle lens) but I had fun and I don't care
I know, I know, I saw your eyes roll at the sight of yet another Urbex tourbus Chateau Secession report with the same bit of history and same old pics! But Ive not posted anything here for a while and thought fuck it, there are still less reports on this than there are on Cameltoeland!!
For those of you who know me, most of my time in France is spent grubbing around either in the Catas or various other quarries or mines, so to actually be above ground was a bit of a novelty and a first for me.
The plans for this trip changed so many times I lost track of what we were and weren't doing. Chateau Secession was mentioned and we thought it would be a nice little bimble on the way back to the ferry - if time allowed. What you have to realise here, is that us actually managing to see this is something of an epic feat, simply for the fact that we never make it back to Calais in time and inevitably miss our designated ferry and have to be bumped on to the later one! So to not only make our original ferry and have time to stop off and see this on the way is one hell of an achievement for us!
After a cracking weekend in Paris visiting a few mines, spending time in the Catas and having probably had around a total of 6 hours sleep over the whole weekend, it was nice to not be rushing back last minute and having time to have a chilled out mooch here.
This trips limo crew consisted of me, @Bigjobs , AndyJ UK, @Motionless Escapes and his missus, @The Kwan , The Riddlers and @merryprankster.
History (Well as good as I can make out from the unfathomable source available!)
The chateau was owned by the Knightly family of Quesnel in the twelfth century, there appears to be a couple more owners before the lordship fell to Jean Le Fevre Lord in Ponthieu in the sixteenth century. At the end of the century Renee Le Fevre de Caumartin married Jerome Le Maistre Bellejamme, who was the advisor to the Parliament of Paris. Their son Louis Le Maistre, achieved Lordship of Quesnel in 1637. His son Jerome Picard forsook the land to the Parliament of Paris and his grandson Henri-Louis, whom was also an advisor of Parliament got rid of Quesnel in the early 1700s. It is also noted that in 1636 the castle suffered looting committed by the Imperialists.
The property was purchased by Jean Fort, who married Married Marie Damiens, daughter of Bartholomew, Lord of Acheux. It was after his death in 1751 that his son Jean-Baptiste built the foundation of the present chateau. Dated 1753 the chateau was built from white stone with animated chain crosswalls across the central front building. The angles of the side pavilions were elegant and this was reflected in the curved path of the outbuildings enclosing the courtyard.
In 1806 marie-Charlotte Fort Quesnel married Alexander Viscount Blin de Bourdon and their son Charles settled in Quesnel and transformed the chateau in 1853. In the west he carved key windows, and unfortunately compromised the balance of facades by adding a second floor which was loaded with large skylights, balustrades and arms created by the Duthoit Brothers. He also retraced the park into a presentable landscape.
In 1914, during the war, the village of Quesnel was fortunate enough to be away from the front lines, however this did not prevent the chateau being occupied. On 31 August 1914, the chateau was occupied by the Germans, it was damaged by bombings and ransacked by the troops.
After the war Viscount Bourdon Blin restored the chateau and gave it to his daughter the Countess of Lussac. After the Second World War the property remained uninhabited and was sold in 1985.
Today the chateau is deserted and is in poor condition. Its current owner is a lawyer whose practice is in Paris.
So anyway here are a few pics that you will all have seen before in one report or another (just a little cropped by comparison as I dont have a wide angle lens) but I had fun and I don't care
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