The Renaissance Chateau

At the end of the Hundred Years’ War the Clères chateau and its domaine, which had been confiscated by the English, fell back into the hands of the local lords. It had been very damaged by more than half a century of warfare and occupation and over time the medieval castle was replaced by a square edifice, called the cohue,which overlooked the courtyard. The Bourguignon raids, led by Charles le Téméraire (Charles the Reckless) in 1472, were probably what caused the most damage to the fortifications.

At the end of the 15th century, Georges IIIrd of Clères, who had been imprisoned in England) retrieved his domain and initiated a lot of renovation work. His son Georges IV continued this enormous building site including the construction of the main living area, the service quarters and the restoration of the old cohue walls. In fact a dedonochronical study (study of the age of wood from the circles inside tree trunks) carried out in 2020 effectively showed that the timberwork in the cohue had been restored around 1503. The building also shows signs of fire tumefaction (the swollen red colour present in stone after a fire due to metals being vastly overheated) on the north wall).

Georges IV was an important baron. He was first married to Anne de Brézé, the granddaughter of Charles VII and his mistress, Agnès Sorel, whose heart is buried in Jumièges. This mariage gave him an important position as Noble and Faithful cousin of King Louis XII and a large fortune. After Anne’s death he married again, Isabeau de Mailly, with whom he had six children.

At this time the estate of the lords of Clères was extending. The building carried out then is still visible today. It includes the central part of the chateau, the octagonal staircase and the lords’ passage which leads to the cohue. Glazed paving stones were found in this part of the building. They represent the alliance weapons of the de Brézé and the de Clères. The monograms A and G for Anne and Georges also appear on the stones.