As early as the 10th century, the Count of Blois, Eudes I, had a fortress built to protect Blois from attacks by the Count of Anjou. In gratitude for his support, he offered Chaumont to the Norman knight Gelduin le Jeune. His childless son and successor Geoffroy chose his niece Denise de Fougères as his heir. She married Sulpice I d’Amboise in 1054, and Chaumont remained the property of the d’Amboise family for almost five centuries.
But in 1465, Louis XI had the buildings and extensions demolished to punish Pierre d’Amboise for rebelling against royal rule. A few years later, in 1469, the king pardoned Pierre d’Amboise, returned the land and provided funds for the reconstruction of Chaumont.
From 1468 to 1510, the north wing (no longer in existence), west wing and part of the south wing were built by his son, Charles I, in Gothic style. The south wing, entrance châtelet, east wing, chapel and grand staircase on the courtyard were completed by his grandson, Charles II, in a more Renaissance style.
In 1560, Catherine de Médicis, widow of King Henri II and regent of the kingdom of France, bought the Château de Chaumont and forced Diane de Poitiers, a former favorite of the King, to give her the Château de Chenonceau in exchange. The latter carried out a number of renovations and affixed her emblems above the machicolations on the parapet walk. Between the end of the 16th century and the middle of the 18th century, Château de Chaumont was owned by a succession of successive owners.
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180927 Rcp Chateaux Benjaminbrolet 0652It was acquired in 1750 by Jacques Donatien Le Ray, Louis XVI’s future intendant des Invalides. He had the north wing demolished to open up the main courtyard towards the Loire, and founded a pottery and glass factory near the château (where the stables now stand), headed by sculptor and engraver Jean-Baptiste Nini, which attracted many artists. Jacques Donatien Le Ray succeeded in preserving the château from the French Revolution, where he hosted Benjamin Franklin in 1776. His son, known as Le Ray l’Américain, sold it to Baron d’Etchegoyen in 1823.
In the 19th century, the château belonged successively to the Comte d’Aramon, then to Viscount Joseph Walsh. They carried out major restorations. In 1875, Marie-Charlotte Constance Say, daughter and heiress of the wealthy cane sugar refiner Constant Say, bought the Chaumont estate. A few months later, she married Prince Henri-Amédée de Broglie.
With the help of architect Paul-Ernest Sanson, the couple constantly enlarged and embellished the estate, restoring the exteriors, modernizing the interiors (with electricity, central heating and running water) and building stables. In 1884, landscape architect Henri Duchêne designed the park surrounding the château. In 1938, however, the ruined princess sold the estate to the French state for 1,800,000 gold francs.
Since 2007, the Chaumont-sur-Loire estate has belonged to the Centre region of France, and in October 2008 became a Centre Culturel de Rencontre: an establishment recognized by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication for its missions to safeguard heritage and promote artistic and cultural development.
