Château de la Rivière, Pontgouin, 17th-century castle in Pontgouin, France

Château de la Rivière is a 17th-century castle in Pontgouin built from grison stone, roussard stone, and bricks with a moat surrounding its structure. The building is defined by its functional layout, multiple stories, and classical French architecture of its period.

The château was built in the first quarter of the 17th century on the base of a 15th-century manor, using materials from the demolished château de la Plesse and brown sandstone from a bishop of Chartres estate. The masonry contract for the central block was signed on 23 January 1617 with Parisian master mason Antoine Petit, who entrusted the work to Marceau Marant and Pierre Dufray. Dates 1628 and 1629 are inscribed on the west corner tower and the drawbridge pavilion, built while Chancellor d'Aligre was exiled to La Rivière after losing the seals on 1 June 1626; he died there on 11 December 1635.

The name comes from the d'Aligre family, whose two chancellors, Étienne II and Étienne III, are often confused with Étienne I. The chancellors were Étienne II and Étienne III, not the first two of that name. The family kept the estate for three centuries, until the death of Marie Charlotte de Préaulx, marquise d'Aligre, in 1926 without heirs.

The castle stands in Pontgouin, in the Eure-et-Loir department, below the hill where the bishops of Chartres had their country residence. The central block measures about 23.30 m by 8.50 m, and a gravel path runs along the base of the rendered facade. Look for the dates 1628 on the west corner tower and 1629 on the gatehouse pavilion.

The central block measures 23.30 m by 8.50 m, matching the 12 toises by 25 pieds specified in the masonry contract of 23 January 1617. The Parisian master mason Antoine Petit took the commission but entrusted the work to two local masons, Marceau Marant and Pierre Dufray, who cut the dates 1628 and 1629 into the west corner tower and the drawbridge pavilion.