France · 15th century
Château de Levéville or Levesville, one of the Châteaux of the Loire Valley, is situated in Bailleau-l'Évêque on the outskirts of Chartres in the Eure-et-Loir department of France. The castle was built in the 15th century and remodelled in the 17th and later centuries.
The château stands on a plateau above the city of Chartres. The first owners, whose name was Levéville (Levoisvilla, Levaisvilla or Levesvilla), were mentioned at the end of the 11th century in the chartulary of the abbeys of Saint-Père Abbey in Chartres and Notre-Dame de Josaphat in Lèves. As vassals of the Bishops of Chartres, the lords of Leveville were passionate defenders of the early Dukes of Chartres.
For more than two centuries, the knights of Leveville were present in the history of Chartres and its region. According to several drawings from the Gaignières collection, the first local noblemen wore suits of armour.
It was probably Michel le Vacher who, between 1479 and 1506, ordered a new castle to be built with the main residential structure encircled by a moat. The courtyard was enclosed by walls, and towers with artillery pieces stood on each side. A second wall protected the castle, the courtyard and moats. There were also several towers and the wall was also encircled by the moat.
In April 1656, all the land of Levéville and its surroundings was given the status of a district.
In July 1610, François III Briçonnet, the reign counselor and administrator of the Paris Chamber of Accounts, became the new owner of the castle. After his marriage to Anne des Landes, the Lady of Magneville, he issued an order for the castle to be reconstructed in the style of Louis XIII. The result was a multicolored brick facade for the right wing. Window dormers and a belfry with a dome on pillars were also erected. Probably two of four towers and a drawbridge were demolished at that time. These two towers were modified into a pavilion with small turrets and loopholes. The couple also built the Mary Magdalene Chapel not far from the castle, because Bailleau Church was two miles away.
In 1813, the castle with all the furniture was sold to Nicolas François Barthélémy, former inspector of this area, residing in Paris. After his death the castle was passed to his sons: Edward (1803–1880) and August (1802–1886).
Text adapted from “Château de Levesville” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Chateau de Leveville ranks #7,856 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #747 of the 793 mapped in France. Founded c. 1500, it is older than 43% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 554 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Évreux, 63 km away. See how France compares in the castle statistics.
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