Château le Fresne is located in Bouchemaine in the Maine-et-Loire with all its 19th century charm. Moreover, it's here that local history has rubbed shoulders with the great history of aviation. The castle was the former home of the Gasnier brothers, René and Pierre, who were the promoters of aviation in the early 1900s.
It was in the castle's barn that René's first planes, respectfully named René Gasnier I, II and III, were built.
A space is dedicated to them in a part of the castle to learn more about their life and history.
The renovation of this castle is a family project that has been underway since 2020. We wanted to give life back to this castle which was no longer occupied and to make this unique place, a reception area for tourists and locals to discover or rediscover the love of our region and the local products.
We are a bed and breakfast with 5 rooms ranging from standard to suite. We have 3 rooms for seminars or events, a 5 hectare park with swimming pool and jacuzzi and an Orangery in which we have created a gîte with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms that can accommodate 7 people.
We have been renovating the castle for 18 months now. We opened to the public in March, making this building a place for accommodation, seminars and events (weddings, christenings, birthdays...).
We have redone the height of the ceilings, paintings, insulation, tapestries, stretched canvases, the exteriors (new safety barriers and borders for the swimming pool, levelling of the ground in front of the castle, gravel, purchase of spa), purchase of furniture, cornices, decoration of the rooms and equipment...
The renovation of this castle has taken a lot of time and investment. This is why we are appealing to your donations to allow us to continue to give life to this place by renovating its kennel, pigeon house and hen house in order to give it a new lease of life.
Our animals currently live there (geese, hens, rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks...) and we have temporarily put up fences to prevent them from escaping. They have access to a part of our 5 hectare park to enjoy the outdoors and the greenery with access to the henhouse.
To date, this building requires work and many materials that represent a significant sum.
- Stage 1: €53,000, which will enable us to finance the framework, roofing and carpentry, which are the most urgent works.
- Stage 2: €73,000, which will enable us to finance the stonework and the restoration.
- Stage 3: 84,000€, which will enable us to finance the masonry
- Stage 4: 93,000€, which will enable us to finance the ironwork and cladding.
We are the PILET family and we have set up this family project to revitalise the area and make people want to stay in Maine-et-Loire and more specifically in Angers and Bouchemaine.
The castle is located on the banks of the Maine river, it has a rich and interesting history of aviation and its brothers who have led actions in this field with the creation of aerial events, exploits in free balloons and the creation of planes and parts that exist today on current planes.
We wanted to preserve this heritage by restoring it and keeping the history of the castle alive while creating a place of welcome, exchange and sharing. We have done a lot of recovery to keep the spirit of the castle and we have been able to preserve some objects that belonged to René and his brother. All the floors of the castle are original.
You can support this project :
- by making an online donation by credit card on this page after registering on the Dartagnans website
- by making a bank transfer from 1 000€ after registration on the Dartagnans website
- for French donors only, by sending a cheque, with your e-mail address on the back, made out to "SAS LE FRESNE" and sent to the following address :
Dartagnans
Campaign "Rénovation pigeonnier, poulailler et chenil"
15 rue de Milan
75009 PARIS
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Thank you very much for your support for this project, your help will be very precious to us!
Contact : [email protected] or 02.41.34.98.24
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Website : https://chateaulefresne.fr
