Photo : P.poschadel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0 fr)
Château de Vallière
The Château de Vallière, at Mortefontaine in the Oise, was built in 1894 for Agénor, Duke of Gramont, and his wife, born Marguerite de Rothschild, in the great park of the vast Mortefontaine estate, which had belonged to Joseph Bonaparte. The duke had bought the estate in 1890 from Madame Corbin, great-niece of the Baroness de Feuchères, heiress of the last Prince of Condé.
The estate keeps the remains of a park with follies laid out around 1780 for Louis Le Peletier de Morfontaine, and four ponds painted by Watteau and Corot. The rather hilly park is in the English style; it includes the Pavillon de Vallière, once a fishing lodge and venue for parties.
The château has a neo-Gothic silhouette and Renaissance-style façades inspired by the Loire châteaux, in particular the four corner towers of Azay-le-Rideau. It includes a chapel, a theatre and around thirty bedrooms. Only the exterior can be visited.
