Tucked away amongst our old posts are two about a chateau at Cahaignes, in the Eure region of Normandy.
Back in 2013 we had hoped to match an old postcard of a grand chateau only to find it abandoned and in an appalling state. At that time there were no fences or gates and the doors hung open. Inside we found beautiful, if crumbling elegance. If you haven’t seen them, have a look at our first photos. This is the postcard:
Later, in a flea market a rather plain postcard revealed the only photograph we know of the chateau interior taken when it was a home. To our surprise the postcard was an exact match for a photo we had taken. We posted the match and a few more interior views.
Chateau Cahaignes interior match for an old postcard, photo taken in 2013.
A few weeks ago, driving north from Rouen, the temptation was too much. Reports online made it clear the chateau was now owned and very private, but it would be interesting to see if any renovations had started.
The chateau is unchanged except for a large propriété privée notice. There was also a lot of activity. Numerous cars and lots of people. Expecting to be turned away, we walked up and said hello.
The owner has started to secure the building and renovate.
It was a fashion shoot. Pretty models dressed in costumes that crossed very modern with historic tailoring posed against dilapidated walls.
Behind ‘security’ a pretty model poses.
The organisers explained the Parisian lady owner will hire the chateau out to photographers and film-makers for a few hundred euros per day. Friendly but business-like, they allowed us a quick look inside as long as we did not disturb the shoot. And a chance to walk around the outside. We are very grateful for their generosity.
The staircase looks unchanged.
The chambre with painted canvas panels of cavorting monkeys has apparently been stripped by vandals. We could not see the room, but prefer to remember as we first saw it, still full of colour.
Just a quick look inside and no further than the far right room as the photo shoot took up the main house. Small changes here; floor swept and a little graffiti.
At one end the rooms damaged by fire continue to crumble. This is the back of the chateau.
Back of the main house.
urbex
Lost
Taken in 2013, these painted panels have now all been ripped out by vandals.
Amazed to find this postcard of the old château library at Cahaignes before it fell into disrepair - see our original post here - and delighted to find we had already taken a photo match (below). Do you have a photo of the château interior before it was abandoned? We would love to add it to…
An old postcard of a classically beautiful 17th century castle took us to Cahaignes. We could find nothing online about it, perhaps a private owner had sensibly protected their privacy. Be careful what you wish for Cahaignes is tiny, balanced on the Eure plains between Rouen and Paris with very few roads to drive down looking…
First published May 2015 The hill looked the same, as did the lake but where was the château towering above it all? Château de Blanche-Lande has disappeared. Mostly. In the heart of the Orne Our vintage postcard photo was taken deep in the forest of Écouves north of Alencon, where the river Thouane widens to…
First published November 2016 There are many potential problems to think about when taking a fairy (or fée in French) for your wife. The Lord of Argouges ignored them all that fine summer day when he spotted a young lady about to take a swim in a refreshing forest pool. She was beautiful in a…
Nestled in a soft green Normandy valley, could anything be more tranquil than château Saint-Germain-de-Livet? Probably not but this is Normandy and it doesn't take much digging to find a furious fighting past. Château Saint-Germain-de-Livet is no different, don't let it's pointy turrets and pretty tiled façade mislead you. Long long ago XIème siècle, the 11th…
When you are granted three wishes, after world peace and the end to all disease, the third wish is of course for a Normandy château. We think we may have found exactly the one to wish for, hidden at the end of an ancient lane edged with trees that form a green tunnel. At the…
There are red squirrels in Normandy. For the English visitor this is always a wonderful surprise. In dear old Blighty our squirrels are lumpy old things as grey as our rain clouds. We have lost most of our reds, pushed out by these dreary tree rats. British children are still told the old stories from…
If you are in Les Andelys and look up you will abandon all previous plans in favour of visiting the beautiful white ruined castle on the top of the cliffs. Here overlooking the Seine river is Château Gaillard. Either park at the top of the hill behind the Château and walk down, or park halfway…
An impossible match.... First published February 3, 2018 High on the cliffs above the River Seine in Normandy is an imposing old château . Here history stretches back to the 11th century and the first Dukes of Normandy. Tancarville was home to Raoul I Fitzgerald, trusted friend of Robert, first Duke of Normandy. Raoul would become William…
First published 2017 One day in 1980 a girl called Michèle on a Normandy school bus heard that a tumble-down château and its farm were for sale. Michèle was horrified. She lived there. Michèle Lefol’s family are not grand. They don’t descend from the château’s fine family. Her grandparents took on the farm before WW2. …
First published November 2017 We are in the lap of 19th century luxury this week on the blog, which is surprising considering the building on our postcard had burnt down. One afternoon in 1902 a chimney in the fabulously extravagant and importantly historic Château d'Eu caught fire. Unfortunately whoever put it out did a poor…
Match! All that remains of Château de Jumilly Two devilish legends cling to the last few remaining stones of Château de Jumilly, deep in the Orne region of Normandy. Which is why it is generally known as Château Diable! The fall of a fine house This land is an empty place now; just a few shaped…
It’s easy to understand ambition that brings riches in this life, or riches in the next. But to start something that will look a bit spindly and scrappy in your lifetime then in about a hundred years be really quite outstanding, now that takes a special sort of ambition. It’s rare but it does happen and…
First published October 2016 Long long ago, when Normandy was known as Neustria, three fairies built a high wooden castle. They were daughters of a great magician lord. Or so the legend says. The fairies chose a place in the wild flat lands to the west, near where sea and river form a natural harbour. Although…
Amazed to find this postcard of the old château library at Cahaignes before it fell into disrepair - see our original post here - and delighted to find we had already taken a photo match (below). Do you have a photo of the château interior before it was abandoned? We would love to add it to…
