Indeed, to be coherent, the restoration is considered as a whole. By continuing your donations, you will allow us to consider a new phase of work which will complete the previous one and which is just as important to us: the necessary restoration of the walls leading to this gate of honour. This consists of a double row of balusters supported by moat walls in a semi-circle.
This "mineral" ensemble, in poor condition, must be restored to regain its true role as the backdrop for the gate of honour and once again constitute a harmonious visual ensemble, at the entrance of the castle ...
Located in the heart of a forest estate in the Loire Valley 25 km north-west of Tours, Champchevrier is a royal and family castle from the 16th and 18th centuries.
Royal: Kings Louis XI and Louis XIII came to hunt there.
Family: it has been inhabited by the same family since 1728.
From the kitchen with its impressive brass utensils to sumptuously furnished ceremonial rooms and their exceptional suite of 17th century tapestries, unique in the world, discovering Champchevrier is an unforgettable walk between nature and heritage.
You can feel the heart and soul of the castle thanks to the owners' family. Listed as a historic monument since 1945, it is now open to the public from mid-June to mid-September and all year round for groups. However, it’s not at all a "museum". You can feel the homely feeling everywhere, since nothing for 300 years, neither the Revolution nor the wars, has broken the continuity of this link between a home and a family.
The first thing you see when you arrive at Champchevrier, at the end of the long tree bordered alley that crosses the forest, is the gate of honor that makes the transition between the horseshoe esplanade and the honor courtyard. It marks the boundary between the public and the private, the outside world and that of dreams, history, and the castle itself where so many lives have been lived.
The owners' great-grandfather bought this imposing old 18th century gate to replace the drawbridge that had been destroyed during the Revolution and then had it lavishly personalized.
This very beautiful work of art demonstrates a great know-how of artistic forging. With perfect proportions, it’s decorated with the arms of the members of the family who bought the castle in 1728: Jean-Baptiste de la Rüe du Can and his wife, born Louise Chauvelier d 'Ollivier.
Lions surround the two coats of arms, surmounted by a crown of marquis: the land of Champchevrier was erected into a barony in 1741 by letter patent from King Louis XV but it seems that the family hoped to obtain a marquisate thereafter. However, in vain...
Water leaves, acanthus leaves, palmettes, rockeries, and grapes complete the ornamentation and constitute a most harmonious whole which lets you glimpse the castle through the iron lace.
As beautiful as it is, this arched and embossed wrought iron gate had never been the subject of a restoration campaign and we show it to you in a relative splendor that has already passed ...
Unfortunately, there is now an emergency.
In recent years, the ornamentation has been weakening dangerously.
Many elements have lost their readability.
Today, it is imperative to save the entire ornament by taking it down and entrusting it to a company with recognized know-how in artistic metallurgy.
In 2019, the ownership of the castle passes to a new generation, the 13th to live in the castle, and a direct descendant of Jean-Baptiste de la Rüe du Can, Baron de Champchevrier. Pierre and Béatrice leave their hands to their three children, Laurence, Christophe and Charlotte, who now have the common objective of maintaining the places in the 21st century and sharing them, making Victor Hugo's words their own:
"There are two things in a building: its use and its beauty. The use belongs to the owner, its beauty to everyone".
For 3 years, important groundwork has been carried out and has been bearing fruit over the last two tourist seasons. A repositioning has been made to bring Champchevrier back into existence among the Loire châteaux. In terms of communication, totally different brochures have emerged, and close work with audiences has been done by launching social networks which quickly achieved success with a loyal community. From a commercial standpoint, this has resulted in a strong increase in individual visitors.
But the difficult health situation in 2020 considerably slowed down a very promising season: the COVID 19 crisis deprived Champchevrier of all groups, international customers and receptive activity. Today the heavy consequences of the pandemic on the cash flow no longer allow the continuation of the restoration work. Yet there is an emergency, the ornament degrades quickly, making it more difficult day by day to reproduce identically. Worse it could fall off and be permanently damaged.
The gate of honor project is the first major restoration project that Laurence, Christophe and Charlotte carry out on their own. In December 2019 they paid a deposit of 8,400 euros, or 30% of a total cost of 28,000 euros. It is now in a completely new international context that they must find the remaining 70%. If this context damaged their financing capacity, it did not affect their determination. The local council of Indre et Loire, impressed by their determination has proposed a contribution of up to 10%.
To help raise the remaining funds the siblings decided to turn to crowdfunding which goes in line with the process of sharing and keeping closer ties with the public that was initiated with the relaunch of the castle. It is the first time they do so.
Laurence, Christophe and CharIotte have all the intention, thanks to your generosity, to save the gate and thus preserve a work of art representing the continuity of their family at Champchevrier, a continuity that is quite rare in the Loire Valley, land of castles, private and public.
LEVEL 1: € 10,000
which will allow us
- to remove and transport the ornamentation
- to put it in the workshop to proceed with the micro-scrub process
- the removal of certain damaged copper / iron elements to replace them with identical elements
- the consolidation of existing iron / copper decors
LEVEL 2: € 17,000
i.e. an additional 7,000 euros compared to the 1st level which will make it possible to do in addition to all the above:
- manual engraving of the decorations
- rewelding of all fixing points
- the consolidation of the steel / iron structure and the replacement of excessively damaged structural elements
- painting
DURATION OF THE RESTAURATION WORK: 2 months
Only then will the decoration of the honor gate be able to find its place at the Château de Champchevrier.
IF LEVEL 2 IS EXCEEDED:
The surplus will be allocated to the restoration of the balusters surrounding the main gate.
You can support this project:
. by making an online donation by credit card on this page after registration on the Dartagnans website
. by making a bank transfer (from 1000 euros) after registration on the Dartagnans website
. for French donors only, by sending a check, on the back of which you will include your e-mail address, in the following order "Patrimoine Environnement", sent to the following address:
Dartagnans
Campagne SAUVEZ LA GRILLE D' HONNEUR DE CHAMPCHEVRIER
15 rue de Milan
75009 PARIS
