The Château de Saulières in Burgundy has sat empty since 2023, after the death of the last family member to live there. The Du Pré de Saint Maur relatives now face the task of restoring the 240-year-old estate. It is a project with a long history and a complicated past. The castle’s revival follows a period of decline, during which the property fell into disarray while housing only one elderly resident.
From wolves to the French Revolution
Jacques-Louis II de la Ferté-Meun bought the land in 1786, just before the French Revolution. At the time, the Morvan region was still a wild area known for wolves, snow, and thunderstorms. Ferté-Meun, a viscount and freemason, saw past these dangers. He wanted his new home to reflect the style and modernity of Paris, even while located in the remote countryside.
He built the château with five levels of limestone and granite. The design is Italian-style and austere, inspired by Palladio. Ferté-Meun positioned the building to dominate the environment and catch the winter solstice sun. The sun’s rays would first penetrate a large living room before reaching a grotto. The floors feature carvings of stars and geometric freemason symbols. He even installed running water and central heating in an era when these were rare luxuries.
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His grounds were just as elaborate. Ferté-Meun created terraces with carriage houses, a French garden, and an open-air theatre. He also built an ice house and a melon garden. These features allowed him to host summer receptions that drew attention to his status as an enlightened thinker. Following his death in 1824, the property changed hands until the Du Pré de Saint Maur family took ownership.
A century of luxury and preservation
The Du Pré de Saint Maur family brought a sense of emerging modernity to the estate. They had made their fortune as auditors to the French court and spent time between Paris and Burgundy. In 1855, they began a costly renovation that preserved the architecture from the Revolution. The family retained the austere style of the original building while adding their own touches.
On the piano nobile, they installed a billiard room with Zuber panoramic wallpapers. A Louis XVI hall in the rotunda was lined with floral chintz, a gift from Charles X. The family kept 11 servants and maintained a busy social life. The bedrooms, which make up the remaining 40 rooms, feature alcoves and floral wallpapers, including several signed by the manufacturer Hartmann.
The interior details reveal the family’s commitment to comfort. The en suites had modern washbasins, and the basement kitchen was equipped with a wood-burning cooker. Hot-water tanks and copper railings for drying cloths made daily life easier. The Du Pré de Saint Maurs also planted Douglas firs, trees considered exotic at the time, which reflected their worldliness and wealth. The house was well loved and well used during this period.
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A revival project and childhood memories
Paul du Pré de Saint Maur, an architect who spent his childhood at Saulières, recalls the estate fondly. With his father, Bernard – who now owns château – Paul is responsible for restoring its grandeur. The two are nourishing thousands of projects to give a new life to the marvellous old building.
Boxes are being torn open and crates are overflowing, waiting for lorries to take them to the dump. Old fabrics and drapes are stiff with dust, wallpaper unfurls from the walls, while ghost marks left by absent paintings and furniture decorate the walls and floors. But the rooms have retained their elegance, quietly hinting at happier times.
The final chapter and restoration
The attic rooms, known as chambres de bonnes, have been transformed into a classroom. Latin books rest on shelves next to a bottle of holy water from Lourdes and a world map. Elsewhere, a bronze angel overlooks a pile of old chests supporting a bed canopy. The fabrics on this canopy match the wallpaper of a bedroom on the second floor. Old cleaning instructions written in purple ink and tied to a pipe with string reveal daily rituals. These notes advise using a specific broom or feather duster for certain rooms. They also state that dust should be thrown into the bushes.
