Château de Creil

Château de Creil
The surviving northeast tower in September 2011
Interactive map of Château de Creil
General information
TypeChâteau
Architectural styleMedieval style
LocationCreil, France
Coordinates49°15′39″N 2°28′22″E / 49.26089°N 2.47265°E / 49.26089; 2.47265
CompletedC.1540
Design and construction
ArchitectJacques I Androuet du Cerceau

The Château de Creil is an ancient fortified castle and a former royal residence located in Creil in the Oise department of the Hauts-de-France region of France. Only one tower remains. It was designated a monument historique by the French government in 1923.[1]

History

The building in 1576

In the 10th century, the lords of Senlis are recorded as having a fortified residence on the island of Saint-Maurice.[2] It was held by the Counts of Clermont until 1218 when it was acquired by Philip II of France.[3] The castle was given to Louis I, Duke of Bourbon in 1269 and Charles IV of France was born there in 1294.[4]

The English-garrisoned town and castle was besieged on 8 May 1441 by an army led by King Charles VII of France and a force of heavy artillery led by Jean Bureau.[5] After two weeks the French artillery breached the walls.[5] The garrison, led by Sir William Peyto, sallied out on 24 May but were unable to break the siege. They surrendered the town and castle the next day and retreated into Normandy.[5]

After being absorbed in the royal domain by Charles V of France in the mid-14th century, it remain in state ownership until Francis I of France gave it to Marguerite de Navarre. She had it rebuilt to a design by Jacques I Androuet du Cerceau in around 1540. It was listed at that time as one of "les plus excellent bâtiments de France" (the best buildings in France).[6] It was described as "il est d'assez grand monstre, mais un peu obscur par dedans" (quite large, but a little dark inside).[7]

After being neglected in the 17th and 18th centuries, the southeast part of the building was put to municipal use in the 19th century. The municipal buildings were built around the southeast tower, with the town hall to the west and the fire station to the east. The southeast tower itself contained a police station and two cells on the ground floor and a magistrate's office on the first floor.[8]

Proposals to refurbish the southeast tower were considered in 1895,[9] but, after some debate, it was demolished in 1901 to make way for the new Hôtel de Ville, which was completed in 1903.[10] In 1930, the surviving northeast tower, together with an adjacent residential building dating from 1788, were converted for use as the Musée Gallé-Juillet (Gallé-Juillet Museum).[11] The northeast tower was restored in 2018.[12]

References

  1. ^ Base Mérimée: PA00114652, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  2. ^ Lambert 1982, p. 166.
  3. ^ Hayot 2022, p. 12.
  4. ^ Brown 1987, p. 317.
  5. ^ a b c Barker 2010, p. 287.
  6. ^ Normand, Charles (1892). L'Ami des monuments et des arts. Vol. 6. Comité des Monuments Étrangers. p. 35.
  7. ^ du Cerceau, Jacques Androuet (1576). "les plus excellent bâtiments de France" (PDF). p. 5.
  8. ^ "Historique du Château de Creil" (PDF). Musée Gallé-Juillet. 2019. p. 8. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  9. ^ Les Concours publics d'architecture. Vol. 1. 1895. p. 5.
  10. ^ "Monuments et visites". Tourisme Creil. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009.
  11. ^ "À Creil, plongez dans les coulisses du patrimoine". Le Parisien. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Creil: son château obtient le label Année européenne du patrimoine 2018". France Info. Retrieved 1 September 2025.

Sources

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