Château de Ponneau
A small 15th-century manor near Buxy, with an arcaded gallery and a chapel of Saint James dated 1447.
- Manor
- 45 min from Beaune
- Private, seen from outside
- 15th century
€155one way from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Commune
- Jully-lès-Buxy · Saône-et-Loire
- Style
- Late medieval manor with 17th-century gallery
- Heritage
- Registered historic monument
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 45 min by road (50 km), €155 one way for the whole car.
Or add it to our full-day wine tour, €560.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the château
Ponneau is a modest château in the hamlet of the same name at Jully-lès-Buxy, close to the Montagny vineyards. A 15th-century house with round corner towers was given an arcaded gallery in the 17th century. Facing it on a small mound stands a simple chapel founded in 1447.
History
The Joly family appears in the tax records of the duchy of Burgundy throughout the 15th century. In 1428 Jehan Joly was allowed to build a tile works here, and in 1447 Gérard Joly founded the chapel dedicated to the Virgin and to Saint James. In 1549 the fief belonged for a time to Nicolas de Thyard, lord of nearby Bissy, and a fortified house is mentioned in 1583.
The estate changed hands many times in the 17th and 18th centuries. Alphonse Bonamour, lord of Ponneau, was buried in the chapel in December 1699. In 1731 it was bought by Henri-Louis Fils-Jean of Rully, whose descendants held it until the Revolution. Around 1880 Paul Adenot restored the chapel. In the 20th century the château belonged to Jean Michaud, who had inherited it from his uncle, General Chaillet.
Architecture
The house is a rectangular block flanked by two round corner towers on its east side, begun in the 15th century and altered later. In the 17th or 18th century a portico and an upper gallery with round arches were added on the west, reached by a rectangular stair tower. The chapel has a barrel-vaulted nave and a rib-vaulted choir, with naive carvings of pilgrim badges and a praying woman.
Visiting
Tips for your visit
Ponneau is a private property and is not open to visitors, so please respect the owners' privacy. It lies a few minutes from Buxy and the Montagny vineyards, where local cellars welcome visitors, and fits easily into a drive through the southern Côte Chalonnaise.
Around here
What to combine with Château de Ponneau on the same day, nearest first.
Questions
Château de Ponneau is about 45 min from Beaune by road (50 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €155 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? The chapel's foundation stone records that Gérard Joly built it in 1447. Its simple carvings show the badges of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, fitting for a chapel dedicated to Saint James.
Sources
Château de Ponneau with a private driver
€155 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests