Chateau St Pauls is a historical Chateau and estate in the commune of Miribel, in the Drôme département of France. The main Chateau was built during the 16th century and is listed as a "monument historique" by the French Ministry of Culture since 1922.
The Chateau's history dates back to 1234, when the lands were granted as a fief to Guillaume de Miribel by Hugues des Arcis, Seigneur de Chateaurenard. The castle was enlarged during the 14th and 15th centuries and occupied by Gaston de Béarn, husband of Jeanne d'Auvergne (1429–1464), daughter of Paul III d'Auvergne (1390–1438), Seigneur de Miribel and Comte de Formigny. In 1454, Guillaume III d'Auvergne (1425–1488), son of Paul III, became owner of the Chateau and remained so until his death. In 1568, Anne d'Auvergne (d. 1584), daughter of Guillaume III sold the estate to her cousin Charles II d'Estaing who remained its owner until 1616. From 1616 onwards it remained a possession of the Béarn-Miribel family until it passed into the hands of Claude-Charles du Roy de Saint-Albin in 1780. His descendants owned it up to 1855 when it became property of Mr Léonard Jollivet Victorin who bequeathed it to his son Jean-Marie Jollivet Victorin who subsequently passed it on to his nephew Jacques du Roy d'Armenonville in 1912. The latter had no children and his widow sold Chateau St Pauls to Mr Lefebvre in 1967 who owned it until 2000 when he gifted it to a not for profit association called "Les Amis du Chateau Saint-Paul". Since then restoration works have been undertaken with help from financial organisations such as FNAIM, Fondation du Patrimoine, Fondation pour la Nature et l’Homme (FNH) , Agence française pour le développement (AFD) et Eurorégion Rhône Alpes Auvergne - Val de Loire . It was at this time that an outbuilding which had been used as stables was restored to become an area for wine production by La Dilettante where they make their range of Cypriot wines (Anoussa Valley).
Since 2003 two artists have lived on site at Chateau St Paul’s: Plasticien Yves Abecassis known for his monumental sculptures & installations made from waste materials; he began working at CHSP in 2003 after meeting Mme la Comtesse Humbert du Roure; Artiste Christophe Jacquet also lives on site with his wife since 2005; both artists are Resident Artists at CHSP since 2013
Published