Château de Baudry, Castle estate in Cerelles, France

Château de Baudry stands above a grassy slope and a body of water in Cerelles. Its left section is a tall pavilion with a steep dark hipped roof and a dormer window; a central range extends right with a dark pitched roof, tall chimneys, a row of dormer windows and a small cupola behind. The central facade has a projecting balcony reached by two curving staircases over arched openings, with regularly spaced windows and a round window above the balcony door.

The property began as a fortified house in the 13th century under the lordship of Châtenay, belonging to the Abbey of Saint-Julien. These early origins formed the foundation for later developments at the site.

In the 19th century Baudry was nicknamed "the Versailles of northern Touraine" for its gardens. The second Jean Taschereau laid out the French formal park around 1685, with rectilinear canals, embroidery parterres, basins and a mirror pool; in 1754 Philippine Taboureau restored the water system. André Reille later added an English garden and landscape garden.

Visit the Médiathèque du patrimoine in Charenton-le-Pont to access historical documentation and photographs about the estate. This resource helps you understand more details about the property before or after exploring the site in person.

The forested estate covers 580 hectares when Honoré Charles Reille bought it in 1828, 425 of them woodland. In 1905 Victor Reille founded the Rallye Baudry, a hunting meet with hounds that his son Karl-André continued. The property is private and now lived in by Karl's youngest son, the ornithologist Antoine Reille.