Photo : Lionel Allorge / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Château de Mesnil-Voisin
The present Château de Mesnil-Voisin, in the Essonne, was built from the 1630s for Pierre Hérouard, on the site of an older castle. In debt, he sold the building, still under construction, to Claude Cornuel, adviser to Louis XIII and intendant of finances. Various owners followed, until Daniel François Voisin, future Chancellor and Keeper of the Seals under Louis XIV, inherited it through his mother. He embellished it with the help of the architect Robert de Cotte.
The building then consisted of a main block between two wings, fronted by two large pavilions, with extensive outbuildings on the right of the seigneurial courtyard. Neglected in the 20th century, the château fell into ruin before being bought at the end of the century. A major restoration campaign has been under way ever since.
