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You are here: Home / Travel / Europe / France / Capturing the Castle in the Cevennes – Chateau de Mandagout

Capturing the Castle in the Cevennes – Chateau de Mandagout

October 28, 2013 by Fiona Maclean 9 Comments

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Last Updated on April 7, 2019 by Fiona Maclean

Chateau de Mandagout – a Castle Home in the Cevennes

Who doesn’t dream of living in a Castle?  Michel Lamotte and Roberto de Pila have made that dream come true, in a hidden and remote stronghold nestling in a valley on the edge of the Cevennes National Park.  And, they’ve done it with great style in a very short period of time (I believe they mentioned two years).

Chateau de Mandagout

We arrived by down a steep path to one of our hosts, beaming and offering to help carry cases up to the castle.  Through a wooden door into a pretty courtyard filled with flowers and the sound of unaccompanied choral music.  On one side a ‘gite’, on the other, the main castle building.  Fresh figs from the garden and a friendly welcome from the two dogs who live there.

Chateau de Mandagout Terrasse

Chateau de Mandagout was originally constructed in the thirteenth century, although the current building was restored from the fifteenth and sixteenth century construction. As the scale of the building suggests, the Mandagout family were important feudal landlords in the Cevennes during the fourteenth and fifteenth century and it was in 1672 that the property fell into the hands of the Albignac family, through marriage.  The castle remained the property of the Albignac family until the twentieth century.  Then eventually, in 1967 , the buildings were sold in a state of disrepair to a former racing driver Mr Trautmann, but it wasn’t until the current owners acquired the property that restoration could start in 2001.

michel and roberto at Chateau de mandagout

They set about restoring the property to its immaculate state, both the castle and the ‘gite’  a two bedroom house built in the Magnanerie  – a building designed for breeding silk worms are now complete.  There is still more work to do, on outbuildings that will serve as temporary studios and workshops for visiting artists and writers.  It is clearly a work of love and passion.  Whatever work was necessary to create rooms that are functional (well appointed bathrooms, warm bedrooms and a cosy farmhouse kitchen) has been done with care and attention so that Chateau de Mandagout retains a sense of time.

the Silk Nursery Chateau de Mandagout

A little about the Magnanerie and its history ; it was silk that brought wealth to the Cevennes.  So much so that the mulberry tree which was cultivated to feed the silk worm became known as ‘The Golden Tree’.  The demise of the silk industry as a rural activity appears to have been partly a result of a major epidemic wiping out many of the silk worm nurseries and partly due to industrialisation and competition from Asia. Overlay on that the chequered history of the Heugenots, the Protestant community living and working in the Cevennes until the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685, and the subsequent exodus of many of the skilled silk workers to Northern Europe, it is amazing that the silk industry in the Cevennes still existed in the 1960s.  The particular style of construction of the Magnanerie was to allow for racks containing the silk worms and their precious cocoons throughout the upper floors of the building and throughout the Cevennes you will find more examples of these buildings.

The restored silk worm nursery at Chateau de Mandagout is now a stunning self-contained two bedroom cottage complete with luxury kitchen, living room and two very individual, comfortable and decadent bedrooms each with their own en-suite bathroom.

View from Bedroom Chateau de Mandagout

Perhaps it isn’t surprising given the particular religious sensitivity of the region, that local people were shocked at the development of the former Chapel of St Gregoire to house a heated outdoor swimming pool (but one surrounded by the walls of the old chapel!).  It does make a particularly effective wind barrier though.

Chateau de Mandagout Bedroom

I stayed in one of the rooms in the castle itself, which offers a bed and breakfast service.  Luxuriating in the Jacuzzi bath I could see out over the hills of the Cevennes National Park, no fear of being overlooked here.

Bathroom Chateau de mandagout

The next morning breakfast was a fabulous selection of local and home baked bread and cakes and home-made jams, cereal, coffee, yoghurts and fresh fruit.

Figs Chateau de mandagout

I could understand perfectly why in this tranquil setting the owners have an ‘adult only’ policy.  Their aim is to provide a retreat where you can write, paint, draw  or simply relax without any interruption.  And, whilst it is immaculate, the Chateau de Mandagout has the feeling of being a home not a hotel.    I could happily have spent a week or so longer here, just reading, walking in the hills and enjoying the remoteness of the area safe in the knowledge that I’d have every modern comfort (including remarkably efficient WiFi) when I got back to ‘my castle’.

Sitting Room Chateau de Mandagout

Rooms at Chateau de Mandagout start at 140 euros a night for a double bedroom and breakfast


More thanks to Jackie Bru, Inger Berckhauer and  Lysiane Boissy d’Anglas from the tourist offices of Causses et Cevennes for their guidance and hospitality on this trip and of course to our charming hosts Roberto and Michel at Chateau de Mandagout
Chateau de Mandagout
30120 Mandagout
04 67 81 48 93

 

Many thanks to Roberto and Michel for the additional photographs used in this feature.

Filed Under: France, Travel Tagged With: Causses et Cevennes, Cevennes

About Fiona Maclean

London based freelance writer and marketing consultant. I edit London-Unattached.com and write for a number of other publications. With a music degree and a background in marketing across many sectors, my passions include all types of music, food, restaurants, wine and travel

Comments

  1. Stevie Wilson says

    November 2, 2013 at 12:50 am

    LOVE!~ this is an amazing place. I have a colleague in Italy whose home is a b&b and it’s outside of Milan.. she does much the same thing….. but I don’t think it’s this large….. (I could be wrong) I have always wanted to go to a place like this!!
    LUCKY YOU!!

    Reply
  2. Jess @UsedYorkCity says

    November 1, 2013 at 5:39 pm

    Ohhh I would love to stay in a castle! What a beautiful retreat, Fiona!

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      November 1, 2013 at 11:28 pm

      Jess you just need to come back to europe again;)

      Reply
  3. Mary @ Green Global Travel says

    November 1, 2013 at 12:31 am

    It’s gorgeous! The Chateau looks like a perfect creative retreat!

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      November 1, 2013 at 11:29 pm

      It’s another fascinating area Mary, people who are full of passion living in a remote and really quite undeveloped area of France…for those of us in overcrowded Britain, it always seems surprising that these pockets of tranquility exist – and even more surprising that they have Wi Fi!

      Reply
  4. Amar Naik says

    October 29, 2013 at 2:45 am

    wonderful clicks. this castle does look like a digital age castle 😀

    Reply
  5. Pamela Morse says

    October 28, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    Dreamy situation..castle with good Wifi…the figs look very yummy to me.

    Reply
  6. Nicole says

    October 28, 2013 at 5:40 pm

    Yes! You are absolutely correct, I’ve always dreamed of living in a castle. Your post was beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      October 28, 2013 at 5:57 pm

      LOL haven’t we ALL always dreamt of living in a castle. The title is from one of my favourite books as a child called ‘I capture the castle’…!

      Reply

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