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47°23′16″N 1°57′27″E / 47.38778°N 1.95750°E / 47.38778; 1.95750

The Château de La Ferté-Imbault (Loir-et-Cher) is a stately home in the Loire Valley, France. A fortress of the Middle Ages rebuilt during the Renaissance, it is the largest brick château in Sologne, and one of the oldest.^[1] It was the family seat of the House of Estampes for four centuries.^[2]

The seigneurie (lordship) of La Ferté-Imbault was the largest in the south of Sologne, whose lands included the parishes of Salbris, Saint-Genou (now Selles-Saint-Denis), Marcilly, Loreux and Souesmes.^[3] It comprised more than one hundred farms spread over tens of thousands of hectares, stretching from Loreux to Souesmes and from Saint-Viâtre to Theillay.^[4]

The château is a large "rectangular building, with large and fine windows, and flanked by four towers [...]; shrubberies and alleys of mature trees lend an air of grandeur and poetry that strikes both the heart and the imagination".^[5] Its position "is quite pleasant and joyful, in a place where the Sauldre divides into several channels ... The red turrets of the château rise amid these waters and this greenery, and crown marvellously the rich picture".^[3]

History

Traces of Roman occupation were found on the site of the present château.

Medieval

The first medieval fortress was built around 980 by Humbold (or Humbault) Le Tortu,^[6] Seigneur de Vierzon and son-in-law of Thibault, comte de Blois. The foundations of the two main towers remain to this day, as does the old armoury. The nearby Sauldre feeds the moat. Hervé I, lord at Vierzon, a descendant of Humbold, on his return from the Crusades, had a collegiate church built in honor of Saint Taurinus. This church and the need to supply the fortress favored the emergence of the village of La Ferté-Imbault around it. In 1280 Jeanne de Vierzon, heiress to the lands of La Ferté-Imbault, married Godfrey of Brabant, comte d'Aerschot [fr], son of Henry III, Duke of Brabant and Adelaide of Burgundy, Duchess of Brabant.

Godfrey of Brabant was the brother-in-law of the King of France, Philip III the Bold. His daughter, Alix de Brabant [fr], married Jean III d'Harcourt [fr] in 1302. His marriage to the rich heiress Alix de Brabant, which brought him the seigneurie of La Ferté-Imbault, made him a close relative of Henry III, Duke of Brabant and the kings of France, as Alix was also the niece of the queen of France, Marie de Brabant.

The son of Jean III d'Harcourt and Alix de Brabant, Jean IV [fr], first comte d'Harcourt, married Isabeau de Parthenay. Their son Guillaume d'Harcourt was the seigneur of La Ferté-Imbault. From his marriage to Blanche de Bray, Dame de Cernon, he had one daughter, Jeanne d'Harcourt, Dame de La Ferté-Imbault, who married Hugues de Montmorency. Their sons, Louis and Antoine, died at the Battle of Agincourt (1415) and the Battle of Verneuil (1424) respectively. Their sister, Catherine de Montmorency, inherited the vast estate of La Ferté-Imbault after the deaths of her two brothers.

During the Hundred Years' War, the castle and village were taken and destroyed by the troops of Edward the Black Prince. After belonging for several uninterrupted centuries to the dynasty of Humbold Le Tortu, Seigneur of Vierzon, by the alliance of the families of Brabant, Harcourt and Montmorency, the estate was sold by Catherine de Montmorency to Robert II d'Estampes [fr], Seigneur de Valençay, in 1424.^[7] Joan of Arc stayed at La Ferté-Imbault on March 4, 1429.

Early modern era

The castle was rebuilt during the Renaissance. Royal power was present nearby in Blois, and Francis I of France came from neighboring Romorantin.^[7]

Partially destroyed by a fire in 1562 during the Wars of Religion, the castle was rebuilt and enlarged by the addition of two residential wings and a large outbuilding in the early seventeenth century by Jacques d'Étampes, marquis de Mauny, the richest landlord of the region,^[8] and the grandson of Guillaume de Hautemer, the duc de Grancey, better known as the Maréchal de Fervaques. (Stendhal used this name for one of the characters in The Red and the Black). Jacques d'Estampes, head of the House of Estampes, was also the first marquis of La Ferté-Imbault. His eldest son was the Seigneur de Salbris.

Born in the reign of Henry IV, the marquis de La Ferté-Imbault died in the reign of Louis XIV, after fighting alongside Louis XIII, whose bust still adorns the former guardhouse of the château. He was ambassador to England from 1641 to 1643, lieutenant-general of Orléanais, Vendômois and Dunois in 1645, and marshal of France in 1651. Louis XIV made him a knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit in 1661. His friendship with Gaston, Duke of Orléans, brother of Louis XIII (Monsieur, the King's brother), was flawless throughout his life; as a lieutenant of the company of gendarmes of the Duc d'Orléans, in 1620 he had a huge outbuilding constructed at the Château de La Ferté-Imbault to accommodate his company. His wife, Catherine-Blanche of Choiseul (whose godfathers were Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully and the Prince of Rohan^[9] and whose father was Charles de Choiseul, marquis de Praslin, advisor to Marie de' Medici, one of the most remarkable men of the end of the sixteenth century), was first lady-in-waiting to la Duchesse d'Orléans.

The château had its apogee in the Grand Siècle. The hearts of the Maréchal d'Estampes and his wife, Madame la Marquise d'Estampes de la Ferté-Imbault, remain at La Ferté-Imbault in the chapel of Saint-Taurinus, under an epitaph. A full-length portrait of the Maréchal d'Estampes de La Ferté-Imbault was painted in 1835 by Jean-Léonard Lugardon for King Louis-Philippe. It hangs in the sixth hall of the marshals, in the Musée de l'Histoire de France at the Palace of Versailles.

Eighteenth century

In the eighteenth century, the Prince Regent, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans renamed the regiment of Chartres-Infantry the La Ferté-Imbault regiment.

In 1743, King Louis XV acquired the marquisate of La Ferte-Imbault for his mistress, Madame de La Tournelle, on whom he wanted to confer a prestigious title in order to present her to the court. Madame de La Tournelle eventually became Duchesse de Châteauroux.

The last marquise de La Ferté-Imbault was Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin d'Estampes,^[10] daughter of the illustrious Madame Geoffrin, whose literary salon in the rue Saint-Honoré was famed throughout Europe and as far away as Russia, where the Empress Catherine II wrote to her as a friend. The marquise, whose magnificent portrait by Jean-Marc Nattier is exhibited at the Fuji Art Museum in Tokyo, enjoyed La Ferté for "the freshness of large chestnut trees that extend their shade".^[7] Her presence was requested in Versailles; Louis XV asked her to teach philosophy to his granddaughters, the princesses Elisabeth and Clotilde de France (sisters of the Duc de Berry, future Louis XVI), on the recommendation of the governess of the Enfants de France, Marie Louise de Rohan, comtesse de Marsan.^[11] She also gave Madame de Marsan scripts for skits performed by the princesses for the Dauphin and the Dauphine Marie Antoinette. Madame de La Ferté-Imbault was invited to the coronation of Louis XVI in Reims on June 11, 1775.

Madame de La Ferté-Imbault was clever, recognized for her culture and moral qualities. A woman of letters, she regularly attended her mother's salon along with most of the great minds of the Enlightenment: Denis Diderot, Voltaire, Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, Montesquieu her tutor, and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. She never remarried despite her early widowhood and several marriage proposals, including one from Stanisław Leszczyński, King of Poland, father of the Queen of France Marie Leszczyńska, who called the marquise "my Imbault".^[12]^[13]

Queen of the "Sublime Order of Lanturelus", she resisted the intrigues of the court and won the friendship of the royal family (including Madame Elizabeth, who wrote to her, "You must love, said a princess. I go further, for I love you, Imbault, and I defy my critics and my rivals to find anything to say against my tenderness",^[14] and Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, who invited her to Chantilly and always sought her advice, help and consolation^[15]) courtiers and favorites like the Marquise de Pompadour, who was her friend.

In the French Revolution the House of d'Estampes fell, and the Château de La Ferté-Imbault lost influence. The surrounding village was annexed to the neighboring town of Selles-Saint-Denis. The two wings of the château were torn down. The marquis de Pierrecourt, son of Sophie d'Estampes, owner of the château, was imprisoned during the Reign of Terror but later released. He sold the estate in 1807 to the Comte de Belmont, whose widow sold it in 1819 to the comtesse de Grandeffe, Marie-Louise de Poix.

Nineteenth century

In May 1824, a rich English family, the Lee-Kirbys from Leeds, acquired the estate of La Ferté-Imbault and moved into the château. They modernized local agriculture by adopting English innovations (forage plants and improving crops, such as clover and alfalfa) in their many farms, spread over 5,000 hectares. This foreign family was unappreciated in the village. In the Revolution of 1830, the people of La Ferté-Imbault invaded the château armed with pitchforks and spades, and sought to lynch the fleeing owner. The Protestant family's forceful proselytism led to serious opposition in the village community throughout the nineteenth century, as in 1868 during the construction of the new parish church of Saint-Taurinus, built in front of the main entrance to the château.^[5] When William Lee died in 1853, his nephew and niece inherited the estate of La Ferté-Imbault and the estate was divided into two parts, the Sauldre forming the boundary. Mary-Ann Kirby received the château and part of the farms on 3,500 hectares, while Edward Howarth, her brother, received other farms and the area of La Place on the right bank of the river (on which a new château was built between 1880 and 1883), for a total surface of 1,500 hectares.^[16]

The village regained its administrative independence in 1860 but faced financial problems. The former collegiate church near the château was destroyed.

The château, whose land was significantly reduced after 1872 to a little over 1,100 hectares, was bought by the Comte Fresson. His niece, Marie Say, one of the richest heiresses of France and owner of the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire, married Prince Amédée de Broglie, then Louis-Ferdinand d'Orléans-Bourbon, Infante of Spain. Many trips were undertaken between the two châteaux. The park, of about 50 hectares, was surrounded at that time by a brick wall.

Twentieth century

The Château de la Ferté-Imbault, sold in 1900 to Dr. Georges Bouilly, then to Henry-René Bertrand, was seized by the Kommandantur on June 17, 1940, and saw four years of German occupation. The building suffered extensive damage in a bombing raid on May 8, 1944.

In August 1960, a "sound and light" show tracing its millennial history was organized in the castle with the voices of actors Madeleine Sologne and André Le Gall.^[7] It has since been sold to new private owners but is open to visitors during the summer.

Architecture

The present stately home was restored by the Maréchal d'Estampes during the first quarter of the 17th century and completed in 1627. It is a high brick building erected on an ancient mound, leveled in a succession of two terraces above the moat.

To the rear (the north), the building is bounded by the two cylindrical 16th-century towers that survived the fire of 1562, and in front (to the south) by two polygonal towers whose foundations date back to the medieval castle. The façade between the latter towers is dominated by an imposing avant-corps covered by a pyramidal dome crowned by a lantern and belfry (also called the bell tower). Stone appears in entablatures, and in alternating voussoirs around the windows.^[17] Three slate roofs are constructed parallel to this façade.^[18]

Several large windows of the eastern façade retain Renaissance grotesques and historical medallions representing Roman emperors and Francis I. This façade also has a polychromatic brickwork motif and testifies that stone was little used in a decorative role. To the main building were added two wings which disappeared at the end of the eighteenth century and at the beginning of the nineteenth century respcctively, following a fire which also destroyed the main wooden staircase in the bell tower, rebuilt in 1830.

Two pavilions were built at the end of the moat: the guardhouse and the kitchens, with a well that still exists, and whose ground floor is vaulted by a series of powerful brick diaphragm arches. The moat surrounding the building on all sides is spanned by a bridge. Four domed bartizans, (two of which still stand), pierced with loopholes, stood at the corners of the walkway overlooking the moat.^[19] The roofs of the pavilions resumed the shape adopted by the avant-corps of the dwelling and that of the bartizans.^[20]

The bridge gives access to two large outbuildings which frame the forecourt of the château: they served as stables and cantonment for the company of gendarmes of the Duc d'Orléans that the Maréchal d'Estampes commanded. "The installation of light cavalry that he maintains in his superb commons is reassuring for all".^[21]) These outbuildings were to house a total population of 600 including officers, 120 horsemen, grooms, farriers and about 240 horses. These long outbuildings were framed by large pavilions covered with high eaves. The farm, with housing, barns and kennels was rebuilt at a short distance in the barnyard.

The red brick ensemble is typical of the classicism that developed at the end of the Renaissance in the reign of Louis XIII.

In the mid-nineteenth century when the château was owned by the English Lee-Kirby family, large neo-Gothic arcades were built in front of the medieval base of the main façade, and the imperial roofs of the pavilions destroyed by fire in 1830 were rebuilt in the form of English-style gambrel roofs.

The grounds, which extend over fifty hectares, were enclosed by a brick wall surrounded by the Sauldre. The Maréchal d'Estampes had French formal gardens designed (transformed in the nineteenth century to the English style^[3]), built an orangery, and dug a vast 600-meter canal, fed by the river, which survives. A vegetable garden, an icehouse, meadows, cultivated land and woodlands make up the estate. A network of pathways criss-crosses the park, which contains many species of trees and abundant game.

References

^ Daniel Coulaud, Sologne, pays des étangs et des châteaux, Editions Privat, collection Histoire & Génie du lieu, 1997, "Les châteaux féodaux" pages 94 and 136
^ Gilberte Espouy, "Elle fut le fief d'origine des d'Estampes. On nomme désormais le chef de maison: M. de la Ferté-Imbault, raccourci et solennisé parfois en Mgr de La Ferté". Page 32
^ ^a ^b ^c Translated from: Louis de la Saussaye, Éditions Hesse, 2009 (publication d'un manuscrit contenant des notes de voyages réalisées entre 1827 et 1835 par l'auteur)
^ Translated from: Laurent Leroy, Editions de l'Etude Historique et Généalogique du Centre, collection "nouvelle histoire de Sologne", 2014
^ ^a ^b Translated from: Laurent Leroy, Editions de l'Etude Historique et Généalogique du Centre, Collection "Nouvelle Histoire de Sologne", October 2014, 63 p., page 5
^ Translated from: » [archive], sur Le Royaume des Lanturelus
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Translated from: Henry-René Bertrand, 1960, Seigneurie de La Ferté-Imbaul
^ Translated from: Gilberte Espouy, 2000, "Tous les hobereaux des environs apprécient d'être reçus par le plus riche propriétaire de la région, qu'ils habitent le Plessis, la Noue, le Méant, le Chêne, Migerault, ou plus loin, Rère, Marcheval, le château du Moulin. Ils ont tous, en commun, l'amour du cheval, de la chasse et de leur terre" page 129
^ Translated from: Gilberte Espouy, 2000, "Elle est accompagnée par Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully, le "Grand Sully", et Henri de Rohan, gendre de celui-ci". Page 25
^ Translated from: Marie-Thérèse de La Ferté-Imbault
^ Translated from: Baronne d'Oberkirch, "Quant à la marquise de La Ferté-Imbault, chez laquelle nous nous rendîmes ensuite, c'est la fille de la célèbre madame Geoffrin. Elle a épousé le petit-fils du maréchal de La Ferté-d'Etampes, et a été sous-gouvernante des enfants de France. C'est elle qui a fait l'éducation de Madame Elisabeth. Veuve à vingt et un ans, elle a renoncé à un second mariage et elle a donné tout son temps à la science et aux arts. Sa maison était le rendez-vous des beaux-esprits, mais ses idées ne ressemblaient pas à celles de sa mère, au contraire; elle haïssait les philosophes, et je ne l'en blâme pas. [...] Madame de La Ferté-Imbault avait, à l'époque de notre visite, environ soixante-sept ans, ce qui n'avait rien ôté ni à son esprit ni à la gaieté de sa conversation."
^ Translated from: Constantin Photiadès, Plon, 1928, 282 p., pages 75 and 76
^ Translated from Madame de la Ferté-Imbault (1715-1791) et son monde, Benedetta Craveri, Revue d'histoire littéraire de la France 2005/1 (Vol. 105), pages 95-109
^ Translated from: Constantin Photiadès, La reine des Lanturelus, Plon, 1928, page 217: chanson de Madame Elisabeth de septembre 1780, Bibliothèque Nationale
^ Translated from: marquis de Ségur, Calmann-Levy
^ Gourcy, Conrad de. Terre et château de la Ferté-Imbault, primitivement à M. Lee et aujourd'hui exploités par MM. Kirby et Edwards, pp. 99–101. Imprimerie de Ch. Lahure et Compagnie.
^ Seydoux, Philippe (1992). Châteaux et Manoirs du Berry, pp. 48 and 49. Éditions de la Morande.
^ Rousseau-Vellones, Serge. Les Nouvelles Éditions latines, p. 19.
^ Base Mérimée: Château, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
^ Translated from: Bernard Toulier, Imprimerie Nationale, 1991
^ Translated from: Gilberte Espouy, 2000, "Un châtelain sur ses terres" page 129

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+{{Short description|Stately home in the Loire Valley, France}}
-{{Multiple issues|
-{{Orphan|date=September 2018}}
-{{Copy edit|date=August 2023}}
-}}
 {{Coord|47|23|16|N|1|57|27|E|display=title}}
 [[File:La ferte imbault chateau.JPG|thumb|Château de La Ferté-Imbault]]
-'''The Château de La Ferté-Imbault''' ([[Loir-et-Cher]]) is a stately home in the [[Loire Valley]], France. A fortress in the [[Middle Ages]] and rebuilt in the [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]], it is the largest brick château in [[Sologne]], and one of the oldest.<ref>Translated from: Daniel Coulaud, Sologne, pays des étangs et des châteaux, Editions Privat, collection Histoire & Génie du lieu, 1997, "Les châteaux féodaux" pages 94 and 136</ref> It was the family seat of the House of d'Estampes for four centuries.<ref>Translated from: Gilberte Espouy, "Elle fut le fief d'origine des d'Estampes. On nomme désormais le chef de maison: M. de la Ferté-Imbault, raccourci et solennisé parfois en Mgr de La Ferté". Page 32</ref>
+The '''Château de La Ferté-Imbault''' ([[Loir-et-Cher]]) is a stately home in the [[Loire Valley]], France. A fortress of the [[Middle Ages]] rebuilt during the [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]], it is the largest brick [[château]] in [[Sologne]], and one of the oldest.<ref>Daniel Coulaud, Sologne, pays des étangs et des châteaux, Editions Privat, collection Histoire & Génie du lieu, 1997, "Les châteaux féodaux" pages 94 and 136</ref> It was the family seat of the [[House of Estampes]] for four centuries.<ref>Gilberte Espouy, "Elle fut le fief d'origine des d'Estampes. On nomme désormais le chef de maison: M. de la Ferté-Imbault, raccourci et solennisé parfois en Mgr de La Ferté". Page 32</ref>
-The ''seigneurie'' (lordship) of La Ferte-Imbault was the most important of the south of [[Sologne]], and whose jurisdiction included the parishes of [[Salbris]], [[Saint-Genou]] (now [[Selles-Saint-Denis]]), [[Marcilly, Seine-et-Marne|Marcilly]], [[Loreux]] and [[Souesmes]].<ref name=":0">Translated from: Louis de la Saussaye, Éditions Hesse, 2009 (publication d'un manuscrit contenant des notes de voyages réalisées entre 1827 et 1835 par l'auteur)</ref> It comprised more than one hundred farms spread over thousands of hectares, stretching from Loreux to Souesmes and from [[Saint-Viâtre]] to the limits of [[Theillay]].<ref>Translated from: Laurent Leroy, Editions de l'Etude Historique et Généalogique du Centre, collection "nouvelle histoire de Sologne", 2014</ref>
+The {{lang|fr|seigneurie}} (lordship) of La Ferté-Imbault was the largest in the south of Sologne, whose lands included the parishes of [[Salbris]], [[Saint-Genou]] (now [[Selles-Saint-Denis]]), [[Marcilly, Seine-et-Marne|Marcilly]], [[Loreux]] and [[Souesmes]].<ref name=":0">Translated from: Louis de la Saussaye, Éditions Hesse, 2009 (publication d'un manuscrit contenant des notes de voyages réalisées entre 1827 et 1835 par l'auteur)</ref> It comprised more than one hundred farms spread over tens of thousands of hectares, stretching from Loreux to Souesmes and from [[Saint-Viâtre]] to [[Theillay]].<ref>Translated from: Laurent Leroy, Editions de l'Etude Historique et Généalogique du Centre, collection "nouvelle histoire de Sologne", 2014</ref>
-The château is a "rectangular building, with large windows and flanked by four towers of massifs and alleys of trees, an air of grandeur and poetry that strikes, everything at the same time, the heart and the imagination".<ref name=":1">Translated from: Laurent Leroy, , Editions de l'Etude Historique et Généalogique du Centre, Collection "Nouvelle Histoire de Sologne", October 2014, 63 <abbr>p.</abbr>, page 5</ref> Its position "is quite pleasant and joyful, in a place where the [[Sauldre]] is divided into several channels ... The red turrets of the château expand amid these waters and this greenery, and crown wonderfully the rich picture".<ref name=":0" />
+The château is a large "rectangular building, with large and fine windows, and flanked by four towers [...]; shrubberies and alleys of mature trees lend an air of grandeur and poetry that strikes both the heart and the imagination".<ref name=":1">Translated from: Laurent Leroy, Editions de l'Etude Historique et Généalogique du Centre, Collection "Nouvelle Histoire de Sologne", October 2014, 63 <abbr>p.</abbr>, page 5</ref> Its position "is quite pleasant and joyful, in a place where the [[Sauldre]] divides into several channels ... The red turrets of the château rise amid these waters and this greenery, and crown marvellously the rich picture".<ref name=":0" />
-==History==
+== History ==
-A Roman occupation was found on the site of the present château.
+Traces of [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] occupation were found on the site of the present château.
-[[File:Marquise d'Estampes de La Ferté-Imbault.jpg|thumb|The Marquise de La Ferté-Imbault by Nattier (1740)]]
-A first fortress was built around 980 by Humbold (or Humbault) Le Tortu,<ref>Translated from:  [http://www.leslanturelus.fr/le-bourg-de-la-ferte-imbault/  »] [archive], sur ''Le Royaume des Lanturelus''</ref> [[:fr:Liste des seigneurs de Vierzon|Seigneur de Vierzon]] and son-in-law of Thibault, [[Counts of Blois|comte de Blois]]. The proximity of the [[Sauldre]] feeds the moat. The bases of the two main towers remain to this day as the old weapons room. Hervé 1st, Seigneur de Vierzon and descendant of Humbold, had built on his return from the [[Crusades|crusade]], a [[collegiate church|collegiate]] in honor of Saint-Taurin. This ecclesiastical presence and the need to supply the fortress favor the emergence of the village of [[La Ferté-Imbault]] which is built around. In 1280 Jeanne de Vierzon, heiress of the lands of La Ferté-Imbault, weds [[Godfrey of Brabant|Geoffroy de Brabant]], comte d'Aerschot, son of duc [[Henry II, Duke of Brabant|Henry III de Brabant]] and [[Adelaide of Burgundy, Duchess of Brabant|Adelaide de Bourgogne]] (Burgundy). [[Godfrey of Brabant|Geoffroy de Brabant]] was the brother-in-law of the King of France, [[Philip III of France|Philip III the Bold]]. His daughter, Alix de Brabant, married [[:fr:Jean III d'Harcourt|Jean III d'Harcourt]] in 1302. His marriage to Alix de Brabant, a rich heiress who brought him the seigneurie of La Ferté-Imbault, made him a close relative of the [[Henry III, Duke of Brabant|Duke of Brabant]] and the Kings of France, as Alix was also the niece of the Queen of France, [[Marie of Brabant, Queen of France|Marie de Brabant]].
+=== Medieval ===
-The son of [[Jean II d'Harcourt|Jean III d'Harcourt]] and Alix de Brabant, Jean IV, first comte d'Harcourt, marries Isabeau de Parthenay. Their sons Guillaume d'Harcourt is the seigneur of La Ferté-Imbault. From his marriage to Blanche de Bray, Dame de Cernon, they had one daughter, Jeanne d'Harcourt, Dame de La Ferte-Imbault, who married Hugues de Montmorency. Their sons, Louis and Antoine, died at the [[Battle of Agincourt|Battle of Azincourt]] in 1415 for the first, and [[Battle of Verneuil|Verneuil]] in 1424 for the second. Their sister, Catherine de Montmorency, inherits the vast estate of La Ferté-Imbault after the death of her two brothers.
+[[File:Godefroy of Aerschot.jpg|thumb|Seal of [[Godfrey of Brabant]], Lord of Vierzon]]
-During the [[Hundred Years' War|Hundred Years War]], the castle was taken and destroyed by the troops of [[Edward the Black Prince]], as well as the village. After having belonged without interruption during several centuries to the dynasty of Humbold Le Tortu, Seigneur of Vierzon, by the alliance of the families of Brabant, [[House of Harcourt|Harcourt]] and [[House of Montmorency|Montmorency]], the estate is sold by Catherine de Montmorency to Robert II d'Estampes, Seigneur de [[Château de Valençay|Valençay]], in 1424.<ref name=":2">Translated from: Henry-René Bertrand, , 1960, Seigneurie de La Ferté-Imbaul</ref>
+The first medieval fortress was built around 980 by Humbold (or Humbault) Le Tortu,<ref>Translated from:  [http://www.leslanturelus.fr/le-bourg-de-la-ferte-imbault/  »] [archive], sur ''Le Royaume des Lanturelus''</ref> [[:fr:Liste des seigneurs de Vierzon|Seigneur de Vierzon]] and son-in-law of Thibault, [[comte de Blois]]. The foundations of the two main towers remain to this day, as does the old armoury. The nearby [[Sauldre]] feeds the moat. Hervé I, lord at [[Vierzon]], a descendant of Humbold, on his return from the [[Crusades]], had a [[collegiate church]] built in honor of [[Saint Taurinus]]. This church and the need to supply the fortress favored the emergence of the village of [[La Ferté-Imbault]] around it. In 1280 Jeanne de Vierzon, heiress to the lands of La Ferté-Imbault, married [[Godfrey of Brabant]], {{Interlanguage link|comte d'Aerschot|fr|Duché d'Aerschot}}, son of [[Henry III, Duke of Brabant]] and [[Adelaide of Burgundy, Duchess of Brabant]].
+Godfrey of Brabant was the brother-in-law of the King of France, [[Philip III the Bold]]. His daughter, {{ill|Alix de Brabant|fr}}, married {{ill|Jean III d'Harcourt|fr}} in 1302. His marriage to the rich heiress Alix de Brabant, which brought him the {{lang|fr|seigneurie}} of La Ferté-Imbault, made him a close relative of [[Henry III, Duke of Brabant]] and the kings of France, as Alix was also the niece of the queen of France, [[Marie de Brabant]].
-[[Joan of Arc]] stayed at La Ferté-Imbault on March 4, 1429.
+The son of Jean III d'Harcourt and Alix de Brabant, {{ill|Jean IV d'Harcourt|fr|lt=Jean IV}}, first [[:fr:Liste des seigneurs d'Harcourt|comte d'Harcourt]], married Isabeau de Parthenay. Their son Guillaume d'Harcourt was the seigneur of La Ferté-Imbault. From his marriage to Blanche de Bray, Dame de Cernon, he had one daughter, Jeanne d'Harcourt, Dame de La Ferté-Imbault, who married Hugues de Montmorency. Their sons, Louis and Antoine, died at the [[Battle of Agincourt]] (1415) and the [[Battle of Verneuil]] (1424) respectively. Their sister, Catherine de Montmorency, inherited the vast estate of La Ferté-Imbault after the deaths of her two brothers.
-The castle was rebuilt during the [[Renaissance]]. The royal power was nearby, in Blois, and [[Francis I of France]] came from [[Romorantin-Lanthenay|Romorantin]] neighboring the land of La Ferté-Imbault.<ref name=":2" />
-[[File:Le château de La Ferté-Imbault vu du ciel.jpg|thumb|The château, the pavilions, the common and the farm.]]
+During the [[Hundred Years' War]], the castle and village were taken and destroyed by the troops of [[Edward the Black Prince]]. After belonging for several uninterrupted centuries to the dynasty of Humbold Le Tortu, Seigneur of Vierzon, by the alliance of the families of [[Duke of Brabant|Brabant]], [[House of Harcourt|Harcourt]] and [[House of Montmorency|Montmorency]], the estate was sold by Catherine de Montmorency to {{ill|Robert II d'Estampes|fr|Famille d'Estampes}}, Seigneur de [[Château de Valençay|Valençay]], in 1424.<ref name=":2">Translated from: Henry-René Bertrand, 1960, Seigneurie de La Ferté-Imbaul</ref> [[Joan of Arc]] stayed at La Ferté-Imbault on March 4, 1429.
-Partially destroyed by a fire during the Wars of Religion in 1562, the castle was rebuilt and enlarged by the addition of two wings and large commons in the early seventeenth century by [[:fr:Jacques d'Étampes|Jacques d'Estampes]], marquis de [[Mauny, Seine-Maritime|Mauny]], who was the richest landlord of the region,<ref>Translated from: Gilberte Espouy, , 2000, "Tous les hobereaux des environs apprécient d'être reçus par le plus riche propriétaire de la région, qu'ils habitent le Plessis, la Noue, le Méant, le Chêne, Migerault, ou plus loin, Rère, Marcheval, le château du Moulin. Ils ont tous, en commun, l'amour du cheval, de la chasse et de leur terre" page 129</ref> and the grandson of [[:fr:Guillaume de Hautemer de Grancey|Guillaume de Hautemer]], the duc de Grancey of France, better known under the name of [[:fr:Château de Fervaques|marshal de Fervaques]] (Stendhal used this name for one of the characters of ''Le rouge et le noir'' (''[[The Red and the Black]]''), the maréchale de Fervaques). Jacques d'Estampes, head of the House of d'Estampes, was also be the first marquis of La Ferté-Imbault. His eldest son was Seigneur de Salbris. Born in the reign of [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]], the marquis de La Ferté-Imbault died in the reign of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]], after fighting alongside [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]] (whose bust still adorns the former guardhouse of the château). He was ambassador to England (1641-1643), [[Lieutenant-General (France)|lieutenant-general]] of [[Orléanais]], [[Vendômois]] and Dunois (1645), and marshal of France (1651). Louis XIV made him knight of the [[Order of the Holy Spirit]] (1661). His friendship with HRH [[Gaston, Duke of Orléans|Gaston of France, Duc d'Orléans]] and brother of Louis XIII (Monsieur, the King's brother), was flawless throughout his life; as a lieutenant of the company of the Gendarmes of the Duc d 'Orléans (in 1620) he had huge commons built at the Château de La Ferté-Imbault to accommodate his company. His wife, Catherine-Blanche of [[Choiseul family|Choiseul]] (whose godfathers are the [[Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully|Grand Sully]] and the Prince [[House of Rohan|de Rohan]]<ref>Translated from: Gilberte Espouy, , 2000, "Elle est accompagnée par Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully, le "Grand Sully", et Henri de Rohan, gendre de celui-ci". Page 25</ref> and whose father is [[Charles de Choiseul-Praslin|Charles de Choiseul]], marquis de Praslin, advisor to [[Marie de' Medici|Marie de Medici]] and one of the most remarkable men of the end of the sixteenth century), was first lady-in-waiting of HRH la Duchesse d'Orléans. The château knows its apogee at the Grand-Siècle. The hearts of the maréchal d'Estampes and his wife, Madame la Marquise d'Estampes de la Ferté-Imbault, remained at La Ferté-Imbault, in the chapel of Saint-Taurin, under a moving epitaph. The full-length portrait of the maréchal d'Estampes de La Ferté-Imbault was made in 1835 by [[Jean-Léonard Lugardon]] on the orders of [[Louis Philippe I|King Louis-Philippe]]. It is in the sixth hall of the marshals, the [[:fr:Musée de l'Histoire de France (Versailles)|historical museum]] of the [[Palace of Versailles]].
+=== Early modern era ===
-In the eighteenth century, the Regent who ruled France since the death of Louis XIV renamed the regiment of Chartres-Infantry to give it the name of La Ferté-Imbault regiment.
-[[File:Le château de La Ferté-Imbault.jpg|thumb|The eastern view of the domain, showing the Renaissance facades of the château]]
+[[File:Le château de La Ferté-Imbault.jpg|thumb|The eastern view of the domain, showing the Renaissance façades of the château]]
-In 1743, [[Louis XV of France|King Louis XV]] acquired the marquisate of La Ferte-Imbault for his mistress, Madame de La Tournelle, on whom he wanted to confer a prestigious title to present to the court. Madame de La Tournelle eventually became [[Marie Anne de Mailly|Duchesse de Châteauroux]].
+The castle was rebuilt during the [[Renaissance]]. Royal power was present nearby in [[Blois]], and [[Francis I of France]] came from neighboring [[Romorantin-Lanthenay|Romorantin]].<ref name=":2" />
+[[File:Jacquesdestampes.jpg|thumb|[[Jacques d'Étampes|Le Maréchal d'Estampes]]]]
+Partially destroyed by a fire in 1562 during the [[French Wars of Religion|Wars of Religion]], the castle was rebuilt and enlarged by the addition of two residential wings and a large outbuilding in the early seventeenth century by [[Jacques d'Étampes]], marquis de [[Mauny, Seine-Maritime|Mauny]], the richest landlord of the region,<ref>Translated from: Gilberte Espouy, 2000, "Tous les hobereaux des environs apprécient d'être reçus par le plus riche propriétaire de la région, qu'ils habitent le Plessis, la Noue, le Méant, le Chêne, Migerault, ou plus loin, Rère, Marcheval, le château du Moulin. Ils ont tous, en commun, l'amour du cheval, de la chasse et de leur terre" page 129</ref> and the grandson of [[:fr:Guillaume de Hautemer de Grancey|Guillaume de Hautemer]], the duc de Grancey, better known as the [[:fr:Château de Fervaques|Maréchal de Fervaques]]. ([[Stendhal]] used this name for one of the characters in ''[[The Red and the Black]]''). Jacques d'Estampes, head of the [[House of Estampes]], was also the first marquis of La Ferté-Imbault. His eldest son was the Seigneur de Salbris.
-[[File:Godefroy of Aerschot.jpg|thumb|Seal of Geoffroy de Brabant, Lord of Vierzon]]
-The last marquise de La Ferté-Imbault was Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin d'Estampes,<ref>Translated from: Marie-Thérèse de La Ferté-Imbault</ref> daughter of the illustrious [[Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin|Madame Geoffrin]], whose literary salon in the rue Saint-Honoré radiated throughout Europe and as far as Russia where the [[Catherine the Great|Empress Catherine II]] wrote to her as a friend. The marquise, whose magnificent painting by [[Jean-Marc Nattier|Nattier]] is exhibited in Tokyo at the Fuji Art Museum, enjoyed at La Ferté: "the freshness of large chestnut trees that extend their shade at the end of the Commons".<ref name=":2" /> Her presence was requested in Versailles, where Louis XV had asked her to teach philosophy to his granddaughters, the [[Élisabeth of France (1764–1794)|Princesses Elisabeth]] and [[Clotilde of France, Queen of Sardinia|Clotilde de France]] (sisters of the Duc de Berry, future [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]]), on the recommendation of the [[Governess of the Children of France|governess of the Enfants de France]], the [[Marie Louise de Rohan|comtesse de Marsan]].<ref>Translated from: Baronne d'Oberkirch, , "Quant à la marquise de La Ferté-Imbault, chez laquelle nous nous rendîmes ensuite, c'est la fille de la célèbre madame Geoffrin. Elle a épousé le petit-fils du maréchal de La Ferté-d'Etampes, et a été sous-gouvernante des enfants de France. C'est elle qui a fait l'éducation de Madame Elisabeth. Veuve à vingt et un ans, elle a renoncé à un second mariage et elle a donné tout son temps à la science et aux arts. Sa maison était le rendez-vous des beaux-esprits, mais ses idées ne ressemblaient pas à celles de sa mère, au contraire; elle haïssait les philosophes, et je ne l'en blâme pas. [...] Madame de La Ferté-Imbault avait, à l'époque de notre visite, environ soixante-sept ans, ce qui n'avait rien ôté ni à son esprit ni à la gaieté de sa conversation.»</ref> She also provided Madame de Marsan with texts for the little comedies played by the princesses to whom the Dauphin and the Dauphine ([[Marie Antoinette]]) were present. Madame de La Ferté-Imbault will be invited to the coronation of Louis XVI in Reims on June 11, 1775. Smart, a woman of letters having regularly attended in the salon of her mother most of the great minds of the Enlightenment ([[Denis Diderot|Diderot]], [[Voltaire]], [[Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle|Fontenelle]], [[Montesquieu]] who was his tutor, [[Jean le Rond d'Alembert|D'Alembert]] ...), and never remarried despite his young widowhood (and several marriage proposals including that of [[Stanisław Leszczyński|Stanislas Leszczynski]], King of Poland, and father of the Queen of France [[Marie Leszczyńska|Marie Leszczynska]], who called la marquise "his Imbault" <ref>Translated from: Constantin Photiadès, , Plon, 1928, 282 <abbr>p.</abbr>, pages 75 et 76</ref>), Madame de La Ferté-Imbault was recognized for her culture and her moral qualities.<ref>Translated from: [https://www.cairn.info/revue-d-histoire-litteraire-de-la-france-2005-1-page-95.htm «  »] [archive]</ref> Queen of the "Sublime Order of Lanturelus", brotherhood of beautiful minds, she knows how to resist the intrigues of the Court, and attach the friendship of the Royal Family (including Madame Elizabeth who wrote to her "You must love, said a princess. I go further, for I love you, Imbault, and I challenge and criticize and rivals, to find nothing to say to my tenderness ",<ref>Translated from: Constantin Photiadès, , Plon, 1928, page 217: chanson de Madame Elisabeth de septembre 1780, Bibliothèque Nationale</ref> and [[Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé|Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince de Condé]], who invites her at Chantilly and will seek always with her advice, help and consolation<ref>Translated from: marquis de Ségur, , Calmann-Levy</ref>) courtiers and favorites like the [[Madame de Pompadour|Marquise de Pompadour]] who was her friend.
+Born in the reign of [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]], the marquis de La Ferté-Imbault died in the reign of [[Louis XIV]], after fighting alongside [[Louis XIII]], whose bust still adorns the former guardhouse of the château. He was ambassador to England from 1641 to 1643, [[Lieutenant-General (France)|lieutenant-general]] of [[Orléanais]], [[Vendômois]] and Dunois in 1645, and marshal of France in 1651. Louis XIV made him a knight of the [[Order of the Holy Spirit]] in 1661. His friendship with [[Gaston, Duke of Orléans]], brother of Louis XIII (Monsieur, the King's brother), was flawless throughout his life; as a lieutenant of the company of gendarmes of the Duc d'Orléans, in 1620 he had a huge outbuilding constructed at the Château de La Ferté-Imbault to accommodate his company. His wife, Catherine-Blanche of [[Choiseul family|Choiseul]] (whose godfathers were [[Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully]] and the Prince [[House of Rohan|of Rohan]]<ref>Translated from: Gilberte Espouy, 2000, "Elle est accompagnée par Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully, le "Grand Sully", et Henri de Rohan, gendre de celui-ci". Page 25</ref> and whose father was [[:fr:Charles de Choiseul-Praslin (1563-1626)|Charles de Choiseul]], marquis de Praslin, advisor to [[Marie de' Medici]], one of the most remarkable men of the end of the sixteenth century), was first lady-in-waiting to la Duchesse d'Orléans.
-[[French Revolution|The French Revolution]] saw the fall of the House of d'Estampes and the loss of influence of the Château de La Ferté-Imbault. Its surrounding village was then attached to the neighboring town of Selles-Saint-Denis. The two wings of the château were torn down. The marquis de Pierrecourt, son of Sophie d'Estampes, owner of the château, was imprisoned during the [[Reign of Terror]]. He sold the estate in 1807 to the Comte de Belmont. The widow of the latter sold it in 1819 to the comtesse de Grandeffe.
-[[File:La Ferté-Imbault château 2.jpg|thumb|The main facade]]
+The château had its apogee in the [[Grand Siècle]]. The hearts of the Maréchal d'Estampes and his wife, Madame la Marquise d'Estampes de la Ferté-Imbault, remain at La Ferté-Imbault in the chapel of Saint-Taurinus, under an epitaph. A full-length portrait of the Maréchal d'Estampes de La Ferté-Imbault was painted in 1835 by [[Jean-Léonard Lugardon]] for King [[Louis-Philippe]]. It hangs in the sixth hall of the marshals, in the {{lang|fr|[[Musée de l'Histoire de France (Versailles)|Musée de l'Histoire de France]]}} at the [[Palace of Versailles]].
-In May 1824, a rich English family, the Lee-Kirby from [[Leeds]], acquired the estate of La Ferte-Imbault and moved to the château. They modernized local agriculture by adopting English cultural innovations (forage plants and improving crops, such as [[clover]] and [[alfalfa]]) in their many farms spread over 5,000 hectares. The presence of this foreign family was unappreciated in the village. For example, during the Revolution of 1830, the population of La Ferté-Imbault, armed with pitchforks and spades, invaded the château and sought to lynch the fleeing owner. The Protestant practice of the family, coupled with a strong proselytism, led to serious opposition to the village community throughout the nineteenth century, as in 1868 during the construction of the new parish church of Saint-Taurin, built in front of the main entrance to the château.<ref name=":1" /> When William Lee died in 1853, his nephew and niece inherited the estate of La Ferté-Imbault and the estate was divided into two parts, the Sauldre forming the boundary. Mary-Ann Kirby received the château and part of the farms on 3,500 hectares, while Edward Howarth, his brother, received other farms and the area of La Place on the right bank of the river (on which a new château was built between 1880 and 1883), for a total surface of 1,500 hectares.<ref>Gourcy, Conrad de. ''Terre et château de la Ferté-Imbault, primitivement à M. Lee et aujourd'hui exploités par MM. Kirby et Edwards'', pp. 99–101. Imprimerie de Ch. Lahure et Compagnie.</ref>
+=== Eighteenth century ===
+In the eighteenth century, the Prince Regent, [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans]] renamed the regiment of Chartres-Infantry the La Ferté-Imbault regiment.
+In 1743, King [[Louis XV]] acquired the marquisate of La Ferte-Imbault for his mistress, [[Marie Anne de Mailly-Nesle|Madame de La Tournelle]], on whom he wanted to confer a prestigious title in order to present her to the court. Madame de La Tournelle eventually became Duchesse de Châteauroux.
+[[File:Marquise d'Estampes de La Ferté-Imbault.jpg|thumb|The Marquise de La Ferté-Imbault by [[Jean-Marc Nattier|Nattier]] (1740)]]
+The last marquise de La Ferté-Imbault was Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin d'Estampes,<ref>Translated from: Marie-Thérèse de La Ferté-Imbault</ref> daughter of the illustrious [[Marie Thérèse Geoffrin|Madame Geoffrin]], whose literary salon in the rue Saint-Honoré was famed throughout Europe and as far away as Russia, where the [[Empress Catherine II]] wrote to her as a friend. The marquise, whose magnificent portrait by [[Jean-Marc Nattier]] is exhibited at the [[Fuji Art Museum]] in Tokyo, enjoyed La Ferté for "the freshness of large chestnut trees that extend their shade".<ref name=":2" /> Her presence was requested in Versailles; Louis XV asked her to teach philosophy to his granddaughters, the princesses [[Élisabeth of France (1764–1794)|Elisabeth]] and [[Clotilde de France]] (sisters of the Duc de Berry, future [[Louis XVI]]), on the recommendation of the [[Governess of the Children of France|governess]] of the [[Fils de France|''Enfants de France'']], [[Marie Louise de Rohan]], comtesse de Marsan.<ref>Translated from: Baronne d'Oberkirch, "Quant à la marquise de La Ferté-Imbault, chez laquelle nous nous rendîmes ensuite, c'est la fille de la célèbre madame Geoffrin. Elle a épousé le petit-fils du maréchal de La Ferté-d'Etampes, et a été sous-gouvernante des enfants de France. C'est elle qui a fait l'éducation de Madame Elisabeth. Veuve à vingt et un ans, elle a renoncé à un second mariage et elle a donné tout son temps à la science et aux arts. Sa maison était le rendez-vous des beaux-esprits, mais ses idées ne ressemblaient pas à celles de sa mère, au contraire; elle haïssait les philosophes, et je ne l'en blâme pas. [...] Madame de La Ferté-Imbault avait, à l'époque de notre visite, environ soixante-sept ans, ce qui n'avait rien ôté ni à son esprit ni à la gaieté de sa conversation."</ref> She also gave Madame de Marsan scripts for skits performed by the princesses for the Dauphin and the Dauphine [[Marie Antoinette]]. Madame de La Ferté-Imbault was invited to the coronation of Louis XVI in [[Reims]] on June 11, 1775.
+Madame de La Ferté-Imbault was clever, recognized for her culture and moral qualities. A woman of letters, she regularly attended her mother's salon along with most of the great minds of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]: [[Denis Diderot]], [[Voltaire]], [[Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle]], [[Montesquieu]] her tutor, and [[Jean le Rond d'Alembert]]. She never remarried despite her early widowhood and several marriage proposals, including one from [[Stanisław Leszczyński]], King of Poland, father of the Queen of France [[Marie Leszczyńska]], who called the marquise "my Imbault".<ref>Translated from: Constantin Photiadès, Plon, 1928, 282 <abbr>p.</abbr>, pages 75 and 76</ref><ref>Translated from [https://www.cairn.info/revue-d-histoire-litteraire-de-la-france-2005-1-page-95.htm Madame de la Ferté-Imbault (1715-1791) et son monde], Benedetta Craveri, ''Revue d'histoire littéraire de la France 2005/1'' (Vol. 105), pages 95-109</ref>
+Queen of the "Sublime Order of Lanturelus", she resisted the intrigues of the court and won the friendship of the royal family (including Madame Elizabeth, who wrote to her, "You must love, said a princess. I go further, for I love you, Imbault, and I defy my critics and my rivals to find anything to say against my tenderness",<ref>Translated from: Constantin Photiadès, ''La reine des Lanturelus'', Plon, 1928, page 217: chanson de Madame Elisabeth de septembre 1780, Bibliothèque Nationale</ref> and [[Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince de Condé]], who invited her to Chantilly and always sought her advice, help and consolation<ref>Translated from: marquis de Ségur, Calmann-Levy</ref>) courtiers and favorites like the [[Madame de Pompadour|Marquise de Pompadour]], who was her friend.
+In the [[French Revolution]] the House of d'Estampes fell, and the Château de La Ferté-Imbault lost influence. The surrounding village was annexed to the neighboring town of [[Selles-Saint-Denis]]. The two wings of the château were torn down. The marquis de Pierrecourt, son of Sophie d'Estampes, owner of the château, was imprisoned during the [[Reign of Terror]] but later released. He sold the estate in 1807 to the Comte de Belmont, whose widow sold it in 1819 to the comtesse de Grandeffe, Marie-Louise de Poix.
+[[File:La Ferté-Imbault château 2.jpg|thumb|The main façade]]
+=== Nineteenth century ===
+In May 1824, a rich English family, the Lee-Kirbys from [[Leeds]], acquired the estate of La Ferté-Imbault and moved into the château. They modernized local agriculture by adopting English innovations ([[forage]] plants and improving crops, such as [[clover]] and [[alfalfa]]) in their many farms, spread over 5,000 hectares. This foreign family was unappreciated in the village. In the Revolution of 1830, the people of La Ferté-Imbault invaded the château armed with pitchforks and spades, and sought to lynch the fleeing owner. The Protestant family's forceful proselytism led to serious opposition in the village community throughout the nineteenth century, as in 1868 during the construction of the new parish church of Saint-Taurinus, built in front of the main entrance to the château.<ref name=":1" /> When William Lee died in 1853, his nephew and niece inherited the estate of La Ferté-Imbault and the estate was divided into two parts, the Sauldre forming the boundary. Mary-Ann Kirby received the château and part of the farms on 3,500 hectares, while Edward Howarth, her brother, received other farms and the area of La Place on the right bank of the river (on which a new château was built between 1880 and 1883), for a total surface of 1,500 hectares.<ref>Gourcy, Conrad de. ''Terre et château de la Ferté-Imbault, primitivement à M. Lee et aujourd'hui exploités par MM. Kirby et Edwards'', pp. 99–101. Imprimerie de Ch. Lahure et Compagnie.</ref>
 The village regained its administrative independence in 1860 but faced financial problems. The former collegiate church near the château was destroyed.
-The château, whose land was significantly reduced after 1872 (to a little over 1,100 hectares), was bought by Comte Fresson. His niece, [[:fr:Marie Say|Marie Say]], one of the richest heiresses of France and owner of the [[Château de Chaumont|Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire]], married Prince Amédée de [[House of Broglie|Broglie]], then [[Luís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón|HRH prince Louis-Ferdinand d'Orléans-Bourbon]], [[:fr:Infant d'Espagne|Infant of Spain]]. Many trips were undertaken between these two châteaux united by family ties. The park of about 50 hectares was fenced at that time by a brick wall and embellished with ornaments.
+The château, whose land was significantly reduced after 1872 to a little over 1,100 hectares, was bought by the Comte Fresson. His niece, [[Marie Say]], one of the richest heiresses of France and owner of the [[Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire]], married Prince [[Amédée de Broglie]], then [[Louis-Ferdinand d'Orléans-Bourbon]], [[Infante of Spain]]. Many trips were undertaken between the two châteaux. The park, of about 50 hectares, was surrounded at that time by a brick wall.
+=== Twentieth century ===
-[[File:Jacquesdestampes.jpg|thumb|Le maréchal d'Estampes]]
-The Château de la Ferté-Imbault, sold in 1900 to Dr. Georges Bouilly, then become the property of Henry-René Bertrand, and was seized by the [[:fr:Kommandantur|Kommandantur]] on June 17, 1940, and saw four years of [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|German occupation]]. The building suffered extensive damage during a bombing raid on May 8, 1944. In August 1960, a "sound and light" show tracing its millennial history was organized in the castle with the voices of the actors [[Madeleine Sologne]] and [[:fr:André Le Gall|André Le Gall]].<ref name=":2" /> It has since been sold to new private owners and is open to visitors during the summer period.
+The Château de la Ferté-Imbault, sold in 1900 to Dr. Georges Bouilly, then to Henry-René Bertrand, was seized by the [[Kommandantur]] on June 17, 1940, and saw four years of [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|German occupation]]. The building suffered extensive damage in a bombing raid on May 8, 1944.
-==Architecture==
-The present stately home is the one restored by [[:fr:Jacques d'Étampes|marshal d'Estampes]] during the first quarter of the 17th century and completed in 1627. It is a high brick building erected on an old mound leveled in a succession of two terraces above the moat.
+In August 1960, a [[Son et lumière (show)|"sound and light"]] show tracing its millennial history was organized in the castle with the voices of actors [[Madeleine Sologne]] and [[André Le Gall]].<ref name=":2" /> It has since been sold to new private owners but is open to visitors during the summer.
-The building is located behind (north side) by the two cylindrical towers of the sixteenth century that resisted the fire of 1562, and in front (south side) by two polygonal towers whose base goes back to the construction of the medieval castle. The facade delimited by these last towers is dominated by an imposing fore-body covered with a pyramidal dome and crowned with a [[Roof lantern|lantern]] and bells (also called the bell tower). The stone appears in tables and alternating claveaux around the windows.<ref>Seydoux, Philippe (1992). ''Châteaux et Manoirs du Berry'', pp. 48 and 49. Éditions de la Morande. </ref> Three slate roofs are built parallel to this façade.<ref>Rousseau-Vellones, Serge. ''Les Nouvelles Éditions latines'', p. 19.</ref>
+== Architecture ==
-Several large windows of the eastern facade retain a [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] decor made of [[grotesque]]s and historical [[Medallion (architecture)|medallions]]. This facade also has a polychrome grid and testifies that the stone was hardly used to play a decorative role. In the main building, were added two wings disappeared for one at the end of the eighteenth century and for the other at the beginning of the nineteenth century, following a fire (which also destroyed the main wood staircase located in the bell tower, rebuilt in 1830).
+[[File:Le château de La Ferté-Imbault vu du ciel.jpg|thumb|The château, pavilions, outbuildings and farm.]]
-Two pavilions are built at the end of the [[moat]]: the first for the guardhouse and the second for kitchens with a well that still exists, and whose ground floor is vaulted by a series of powerful arches diaphragms in brick. The moats that surround this quadrilateral on all sides are built with a bridge that spans them. Four watch-towers (two of which are still standing) with domes are arranged, pierced with openings to allow shots, which stand at the corners of the walkway overlooking the moat.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00098437|Château}}</ref> The roofs of the pavilions resumed the shape adopted by the fore-body of the dwelling and that of the escugettes.<ref>Translated from: Bernard Toulier, , Imprimerie Nationale, 1991</ref>
+The present stately home was restored by the [[:fr:Jacques d'Étampes|Maréchal d'Estampes]] during the first quarter of the 17th century and completed in 1627. It is a high brick building erected on an ancient mound, leveled in a succession of two terraces above the moat.
+To the rear (the north), the building is bounded by the two cylindrical 16th-century towers that survived the fire of 1562, and in front (to the south) by two polygonal towers whose foundations date back to the medieval castle. The façade between the latter towers is dominated by an imposing {{lang|fr|[[avant-corps]]}} covered by a pyramidal dome crowned by a [[roof lantern|lantern]] and [[belfry (architecture)|belfry]] (also called the bell tower). Stone appears in entablatures, and in alternating [[voussoir]]s around the windows.<ref>Seydoux, Philippe (1992). ''Châteaux et Manoirs du Berry'', pp. 48 and 49. Éditions de la Morande.</ref> Three slate roofs are constructed parallel to this façade.<ref>Rousseau-Vellones, Serge. ''Les Nouvelles Éditions latines'', p. 19.</ref>
-[[File:2010-04-25 chateau de La Ferté Imbault2.jpg|thumb|The Château]]
-The bridge gives access to two large bodies of common, particularly remarkable, which frame the forecourt of the château: they served as stables and cantonment for the company of Gendarmes of the Duc d'Orléans that the marshal d'Estampes directed "the installation of the light horse that he maintains in his superb common is reassuring for all".<ref>Translated from: Gilberte Espouy, , 2000, "Un châtelain sur ses terres" page 129</ref>) These outbuildings were to house a total population of 600 including officers, 120 horsemen, grooms, farriers and about 240 horses. These long outbuildings are framed by large pavilions covered with high eaves.
+Several large windows of the eastern façade retain [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] [[grotesque (architecture)|grotesques]] and historical [[Medallion (architecture)|medallions]] representing Roman emperors and [[Francis I of France|Francis I]]. This façade also has a polychromatic brickwork motif and testifies that stone was little used in a decorative role. To the main building were added two wings which disappeared at the end of the eighteenth century and at the beginning of the nineteenth century respcctively, following a fire which also destroyed the main wooden staircase in the bell tower, rebuilt in 1830.
-The farm with housing, barns and kennel was rebuilt a little further apart in the barnyard.
+Two pavilions were built at the end of the [[moat]]: the guardhouse and the kitchens, with a well that still exists, and whose ground floor is vaulted by a series of powerful brick [[diaphragm arch]]es. The moat surrounding the building on all sides is spanned by a bridge. Four domed [[bartizan]]s, (two of which  still stand), pierced with [[arrowslit|loopholes]], stood at the corners of the [[chemin de ronde|walkway]] overlooking the moat.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00098437|Château}}</ref> The roofs of the pavilions resumed the shape adopted by the {{lang|fr|avant-corps}} of the dwelling and that of the bartizans.<ref>Translated from: Bernard Toulier, Imprimerie Nationale, 1991</ref>
+[[File:2010-04-25 chateau de La Ferté Imbault2.jpg|thumb|The Château]]
+The bridge gives access to two large outbuildings which frame the forecourt of the château: they served as stables and cantonment for the company of gendarmes of the Duc d'Orléans that the Maréchal d'Estampes commanded. "The installation of [[chevau-léger|light cavalry]] that he maintains in his superb commons is reassuring for all".<ref>Translated from: Gilberte Espouy, 2000, "Un châtelain sur ses terres" page 129</ref>) These outbuildings were to house a total population of 600 including officers, 120 horsemen, grooms, farriers and about 240 horses. These long outbuildings were framed by large pavilions covered with high eaves. The farm, with housing, barns and kennels was rebuilt at a short distance in the barnyard.
-The magnificent red brick ensemble is typical of the classicism that developed at the end of the Renaissance and during the reign of Louis XIII.
+The red brick ensemble is typical of the classicism that developed at the end of the Renaissance in the reign of Louis XIII.
-In the mid-nineteenth century, when the château was owned by the English Lee-Kirby family, large neo-Gothic arcades were placed in front of the medieval base of the main facade, and the imperial roofs of the pavilions destroyed by fire in 1830 were rebuilt in the form of two-slope English-inspired roofs.
+In the mid-nineteenth century when the château was owned by the English Lee-Kirby family, large neo-Gothic arcades were built in front of the medieval base of the main façade, and the imperial roofs of the pavilions destroyed by fire in 1830 were rebuilt in the form of English-style [[gambrel]] roofs.
-The area which now extends over fifty hectares is enclosed by a brick wall surrounded by the [[Sauldre]]. Marshal d'Estampes had French gardens (transformed in the nineteenth century according to the English fashion<ref name=":0" />), built an [[orangery]], and dug a vast 600-meter canal, fed by the river, which survived. A vegetable garden, a cooler, meadows, cultivated land and woodlands make up a romantic territory. A network of star alleys serves the park. Many species of trees are found there as well as an abundant game.
+The grounds, which extend over fifty hectares, were enclosed by a brick wall surrounded by the [[Sauldre]]. The Maréchal d'Estampes had French formal gardens designed (transformed in the nineteenth century to the [[English landscape garden|English style]]<ref name=":0" />), built an [[orangery]], and dug a vast 600-meter canal, fed by the river, which survives. A vegetable garden, an [[ice house (building)|icehouse]], meadows, cultivated land and woodlands make up the estate. A network of pathways criss-crosses the park, which contains many species of trees and abundant game.
-==References==
+== References ==
 <references />
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 [[Category:Châteaux in Loir-et-Cher]]
 [[Category:Châteaux of the Loire Valley]]
-[[Category:Monuments historiques of Centre-Val de Loire]]
+[[Category:Monuments historiques of Loir-et-Cher]]
 [[Category:Ancien Régime French architecture]]
+[[Category:Estampes family]]