By Château de Talcy
Castle of Talcy
Estate in the 18th century
In the 18th century the castle became a huge food-producing agricultural estate.
Talcy château, the gardens as seen from the top (2014-08-01) by Delagarde Jean-PierreChâteau de Talcy
In 1718 the castle of Talcy acquired by the Burgeats became a food-producing agricultural estate. This self-sufficiency function of the kitchen garden was common to all properties of that era.
Talcy château, pears and apples treesChâteau de Talcy
Defined by stone markers, the estate comprised 550 hectares, 6 of which were enclosed, and 7 farms in the immediate surroundings. All of this was set out for the farming of fruit (apples, pears, oranges and apricots), vegetables, grape-growing and harvesting and the sale of cereals and timber.
All of this highly diverse production ensured the family’s subsistence, whether it was staying in Talcy during the summer or in Paris during the winter.
Estate Today
With a collection orchard linked to the potager, the aim is to rediscover the estate’s nutritive function.
Talcy château, the porch tower and dovecot seen from the box-hedged squares of the garden (2014-08-01) by Delagarde Jean-PierreChâteau de Talcy
As a result of land sales in the 19th century, the estate now only comprises 6 hectares.
It is an ornamental garden open to the public, laid out on a gentle slope towards Talcy wood. Divided into box-hedged squares, planted out with flowers and shrubs, the flowerbed forms a terrace with a semicircular stoop.
Talcy château,the garden enclosure wall (2015-07-01) by Clier ColombeChâteau de Talcy
Redeveloped in 1996, the garden became an academy of fruit species and agricultural know-how, before becoming the collection orchard it is today. This restoration sets out to rediscover its historic nutritive function, hence its distribution into squares with the linking of the orchard and refurbished potager in 2014.
This virtual exhibition has been put together by teams from the Centre des monuments nationaux, with the help of teams from the Château de Talcy, the support of teams from the images unit and coordination by the digital unit.
The images were taken from Regards - Banque d’images des monuments © Centre des monuments nationaux.