Photo : ℍenry Salomé / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Château de Bonnelles
The present Louis XIII-style Château de Bonnelles, in the Yvelines, built in 1847-1849 by the architects Joseph-Antoine Froelicher and Clément Parent, was an important centre of hunting with hounds when it was the favourite residence of the famous Duchess of Uzès (1847-1933). She lived here, mainly in summer, from 1906 until her death in 1933, surrounded by 48 household staff and 28 gardeners, coachmen and grooms.
The duchess led a very free-spirited life and in 1897 became the first woman to hold a driving licence, and to be fined in the Bois de Boulogne for speeding at 15 km/h instead of the 12 km/h allowed. A keen huntswoman, she took part every year in the Rallye de Bonnelles, a huge stag hunt in the Rambouillet forest.
