Château de la Martinière, 18th century castle in Bièvres, France.
Château de la Martinière stands at 9 rue Léon Mignotte in the centre of Bièvres, in the Bièvre valley. It is built of millstone and rendered limestone: a narrow two-storey main block, extended on the north facade by a projecting bay topped with a pediment, with a square wing to the east; the symmetrical west wing was demolished in the 19th century. Long-pitched slate roofs cover the mansard top floor.
Built between 1740 and 1765 for Germain Pichault de La Martinière, surgeon and state councillor to Louis XV and then Louis XVI, while Bièvres lay in the orbit of nearby Versailles. The Dollfus family acquired it in 1810; in the 19th century the west wing was demolished and the main block's facades altered, and the outbuildings were modified in 1890. Requisitioned under the German occupation, it passed to the Seine-et-Oise department at the Liberation, was inscribed as a monument historique on 19 September 1963, and was sold by the City of Paris to the Essonne departmental council in 2018.
The château's name comes from Germain Pichault de La Martinière, surgeon to Louis XV and Louis XVI, for whom it was built. The Dollfus family acquired the estate in 1810, and the west wing was demolished during the 19th century. The outbuildings were altered in 1890.
The château stands at 9 rue Léon Mignotte in the centre of Bièvres, in the Bièvre valley, near the borders of the Yvelines and Hauts-de-Seine. Its former park was divided into small gated residences between 1985 and 1990 to fund the restoration and upkeep of the estate, so the grounds are now private. Visitors see the building from the street.
The west wing was demolished in the 19th century, leaving the main block and its square eastern wing; the northern facade keeps an advance topped by a pediment. The outbuildings were altered in 1890. The grounds were divided into small gated residences between 1985 and 1990 to fund restoration and upkeep of the estate.
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