History
The family descends from the lords of Montréal, in the Avallonnais. In the early 13th century Guy, brother of Anséric IV de Montréal, founded a new branch at Beauvoir. His descendants settled at Chastellux in the early 14th century, made it their main home and took its name. In 1321 they paid homage to the Duke of Burgundy. The family says it has owned the castle for close to a thousand years.
The most famous member of the family was Claude de Beauvoir, lord of Chastellux and Marshal of France, who lived from 1385 to 1453. In 1423, during the Hundred Years' War, he defended the town of Cravant for the Burgundian side and led a decisive charge. Generation after generation, the family kept enlarging, embellishing and restoring the castle, which is still their home.
Architecture
The castle is a cluster of towers of different ages and shapes around the main buildings. The 13th-century Tour Saint-Jean was classified as a historic monument in 1976. Other towers were remodelled later, and one was raised by two storeys in the 1820s. The château has been listed since 1925, and its outbuildings, dovecote, farm and terraces since 1989. A park of about 20 hectares surrounds it.
