Château de Blancafort

The château de Blancafort sits in the heart of the village of Blancafort, in the historical region of Pays-Fort, France. It was built and completed at the start of the 16th century for François de Boucard and his wife Marguerite de Cugnac. The first mention of a Lord of Blancafort appears in 1064, with a certain Garnier. The château's history is pieced together through the records of the Templiers and the families that owned it. Godefroy, husband of Bilichilde, made donations to the Templiers of La commanderie du Fresne.

Godefroy, Seguin, and Giraud were the children of an unnamed father, who succeeded him. Seguin and Jean, sons of Giraud, made further donations to La commanderie du Fresne in 1199. Jean I, husband of Hélissende, made donations to La commanderie du Fresne in 1201. Jean I had sons named Geoffroi, Joscelin, Pierre, and Renaud who succeeded him. Renaud had sons named Jean II de Blancafort. Jean II de Blancafort and his wife Jeanne de Pregrimault founded the chapelle Saint-Sylvain in Blancafort Church on Christmas 1250.

Jean II de Blancafort and Jeanne de Pregrimault had sons named Pierre and Agnès who succeeded him. Agnès de Blancafort married 1st Guillaume d'Autry and 2nd Jean de Boucard. Agnès de Boucard and Jean de Boucard had a son named Jean II (or III) de Boucard. Jean II (or III) de Boucard had a son named Lancelot. Jean II (or III) de Boucard also had a son named Jean III (or IV). Jean III (or IV) had a son named Antoine, from whom descend the subsequent sires of Boucard.

Jean III (or IV) also had a son named François de Boucart. François de Boucart and Marguerite de Cugnac had a daughter named Jeanne de Boucard. François de Boucart and Marguerite de Cugnac also had a son named Pierre de Boucard. Pierre de Boucard had a daughter named Françoise de Boucard who married Louis d'Estampes de La Ferté-Imbault. Françoise de Boucard later married Jacques de Courseulles, baron de Saint-Rémy-sur-Avre. Blancafort was in possession of the baron de Saint-Rémy from 1568 to 1594.

Héliie and Amable de Sainte-Feyre were the last descendants of the family of Boucart to own the château de Blancafort. Claude de Faucon was a 'maître d'hôtel of Queen Marie de Médicis and a treasure of France in Moulins'. Blancafort is located near Gien, a city between Moulins and Paris. Claude de Faucon may have chosen to live at Blancafort due to its location. Claude de Faucon was a son of Claude (I) Faucon de Ris and married Marguerite Courtin de La Grange-Rouge.

Their daughter Francoise (de) Faucon dame de Blancafort died in 1660. Charles d'Angennes de Poigny married Francoise (de) Faucon dame de Blancafort and their son Joseph d'Angennes (1653-1687) became baron of Blancafort and sire of Concressault. From 1781 to 1919, the château de Blancafort belonged to the Duranti family. The Duranti family included members who were mayors of the village. A Sainte-Famille by Mignard, created by Charlotte de Duranti in 1834, is conserved in the church of Blancafort.

The château de Blancafort had several owners from 1919 to 1963. During World War II, the Germans occupied the château of Blancafort and almost entirely destroyed its chartrier. The remaining chartrier is now conserved at the Archives départementales du Cher in Bourges. The château is inscribed as a historical monument by a decree from 19 February 1926. The château was owned by the baronne de Cramer from 1963. The baronne de Cramer launched the creation of a garden à la française in front of the western facade of the château.

The château was inherited by the baronne de Cramer's grandson, the comte Alban de Montjou, in 1963. The comte Alban de Montjou failed to sell the château in 2017 for 1.7 million euros, when it was estimated at 4.95 million euros. The château de Blancafort is located in the Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons