The Château history

The original family dates back to the year 800 where they were part of the royal family in Ireland and were named O’Daly, then O’Dales and on arriving in France in the 1400’s dropped the O to become d’ales de Corbet. A highly decorated military family they inherited the Château in the early 1800's. 

Family member Bernard has explained the meaning of the family crest ‘allez commes a’les’. “My great great grandfather left Paris to Moscow on horseback to bring Napoléon strategic intelligence information. He rode so hard and fast that on arrival he had no skin left on his buttocks.  Napoléon would subsequently say to his Generals ‘Go as A’les’ meaning behave like him.

The original estate included the adjoining farm, the mill house on the river and many acres of forests and farming land but today consists of the chateau, various outbuildings and around 25 acres.   The d’Ales family initially lived in the 15th century farmhouse and built the main part of the chateau around 1838 in the style of what the French call a ‘relai de chasse’ (Hunting Lodge). This consisted of a four-storey structure with towers at either end. Subsequently, a large extension was added to the east end that included two salons, four bedrooms and attic space. The two-level extension at the opposite end was built to house the workers building the new extension with the plan being to then replace this temporary structure with another grand extension. These plans never eventuated and the western end extension today houses the château kitchen and a private apartment. 

The d’Ales family had continuous ownership for around 150 years which helped to ensure that the chateau itself remained intact with original marble fireplaces and oak parquetry flooring. In 2014 Suzie become the fourth owners of this beautiful property.