Manoir du Chastenay
The manor

A house still being written

In Arcy-sur-Cure, near the caves, the Manoir du Chastenay was rebuilt in 1549 for the d’Aulnay family, then extended in the 18th century. Its façades and roofs have been listed as a Monument historique since 1971.

The barn with its X-shaped iron anchors, the round tower and the old enclosure wall
The outbuildings: the barn and its X-shaped iron anchors, the round tower, the old enclosure wall (registered in 1971).

Key dates

  1. 16th–18th c.The two main building campaigns of the manor. Mérimée PA00113575
  2. 1549The manor is rebuilt for the d’Aulnay family. It retains a carved Renaissance façade, busts and a spiral staircase. Inventaire IA00002743
  3. 1875A neo-Renaissance pavilion is built for the comte de Sablon. Inventaire IA00002743
  4. 11 Oct 1971The façades and roofs are listed (classés) as a Monument historique, except the east wing. Mérimée PA00113575
  5. 13 Oct 1971The façades and roofs of the outbuildings and the remains of the old enclosure are registered (inscrits). Mérimée PA00113575

What we know, what is still to be discovered

What we know. Rebuilt in 1549 for the d’Aulnay family, the manor keeps its façade with carved busts and its spiral staircase. Its façades and roofs have been listed as a Monument historique since 1971, and it remains a family house, lived in.Inventaire général IA00002743 · Mérimée PA00113575

What is still to be discovered. The history of the site before 1549, and the meaning of the sculptures on the façade, which Gabriel de La Varende read in 1982 as alchemical decoration: a reading that remains to be examined.Inventaire général IA00002743 · G. de La Varende, Une demeure alchimique (1982)

A document, an old photograph, a memory? Write to us.

Scale model of the manor on a table
The scale model of the manor.

A lived-in house

The 18th-century wing is our home: it stays private and is not open to visitors. What we open is the courtyard, the outbuildings, the meadows and the history.

Sources (in French)

Sources consulted on 9 October 2026.