Château de La Verrerie is a Renaissance gem built by Béraud Stuart, on the edge of a large lake surrounded by forests. The site boasts a number of paths where Alain Fournier, author of Le Grand Meaulnes, loved to wander. The chapel boasts a remarkable collection of 16th-century frescoes. Inside, you’ll find treasures that will make you dream, such as the Pleurants, which adorned the tomb of Duke Jean de Berry.

Property of the Stuarts of Scotland

In 1423, Charles VII offered the seigneury of Aubigny to John Stuart in gratitude for his help in the fight against the English. Nearly 5,000 Scots had come to help the “Little King of Bourges”.
The estate remained in the hands of the Stuarts for two centuries.

Property of Louise de Kéroualle

With no descendants of the Scottish Stuarts, the seigneury of Aubigny and the estate of La Verrerie returned to the Kingdom of France, and Louis XIV offered it to Louise de Kéroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth.

Photo gallery

Seigneurie d'Aubigny-sur-Nère, Land of the Scottish Stuarts

The land of Oizon belonged to the seigneury of Aubigny-sur-Nère, owned since 1421 by Jean Stuart, Constable of Charles VII’s Scottish army. Between 1495 and 1500, Bérault Stuart enlarged the old Verrerie estate, turning it into a leisure residence set between forest and pond. This new construction involved the dwelling and the shell of the chapel. A few years later, around 1520, Robert Stuart undertook a second campaign of works: entrance work, decoration of the chapel and the south wing of the gallery framed by two pavilions.

The rectangular dwelling has three levels, with a hexagonal stair tower in the center of the west façade. On the first floor, on the east side, cross-headed windows framed by cross-headed moldings can still be seen. The elongated chapel with its canted chevet is built perpendicular to the dwelling. It is easily identifiable by its narrow slate spire and high windows with pointed arches and flamboyant infill. The doors to the staircase tower and the chapel are similarly decorated: basket-handle doors topped by a pointed arch forming a tympanum, framed by pinnacles and crowned by a gable in accolade, characteristic of the early 16th century. The panelled vault and upper walls of the chapel are painted with figures alluding to the family of the patron (Robert Stuart). The roofs of the dwelling and chapel have long gables and open gables. The new gallery, built in brick in imitation of the gallery at Château de Blois, has 9 semicircular arches. Only the decorative elements are in stone: columns, arches, quoins and the frames of four windows. All the decorative elements (scrolls, arabesques, helices, garlands, medallions and pilasters) are typically Renaissance. A Flemish influence is suggested by Jan Van Waveren’s signature, found in two places on the second floor of the gallery. The stair tower in the south-west corner is covered by an imperial roof.

Owned by the de Vogüé family since 1842

Around 1894, Mr. Louis de Vogüé, whose family had owned La Verrerie since 1842, began restoring and enlarging the château. Most of the windows were transformed (particularly on the facades of the dwelling), and the interior was fitted out to make it more comfortable. The most important project involved doubling the size of the east gallery. To the south, on the park side, this neo-Renaissance extension comprises several pavilions of varying sizes framing a terraced gallery flanked by a round tower hemmed in on the west side. The slope of the land imposed a massive base, offering an imposing view of the building from the pond.

Château de La Verrerie Practical info

Accessibility

Motor disability: access to the château courtyard through the gate (intercom).
Visually impaired: please ask for a Braille-captioned relief map of the site.
Hearing impaired: please ask for a booklet to accompany your visit.

Opening hours 2024

The château will open its doors on Saturday April 13, 2024 at 2pm.

April, May, October: open Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm to 6pm.
Additional days: April 22 – May 1 – May 8, 9, 10 and 20 – October 30 and 31 – November 1.

June and September: from Wednesday, June 5 – open from 2pm to 6pm every day except Monday and Tuesday.

July and August: from Tuesday, July 3 to Sunday, September 1 – open daily from 10.30am to 12.30pm and from 2pm to 6pm.

Exceptional closures may occur on certain Saturdays. Please consult the website: chateaudelaverrerie.net

Tour rates 2024

Groups (minimum 10 people)

Daily by appointment from April 1 to November 15.

Package for up to 15 people: €120 – €9/person for more than 15 (château and grounds).

Lunch available at Hélène’s house in the château grounds.

Tour prices

  • Château and park: €10
  • Château: €9
  • Reduced: 6€ (unemployed, students, disabled persons, children aged 7 to 16)
  • Jacques Coeur Privilege Pass: €6
  • Park only: €2
  • Free for children under 7