Château
Marconne
Pas-de-Calais, France — built 1894, available now
A private château in the north of France, five hectares of formal gardens, a wine cellar where the stone arches are original, and a dining room where Goering once ate. It is available to rent. You should rent it.
Filed by Benjamin Philip, Global Correspondent
"I arrived in the courtyard with my luggage and raised my arm. That is the correct response to arriving at Château Marconne. I recommend it."
— Benjamin Philip, Global Correspondent, Just Gerald Magazine
Benjamin Philip arrives. The arm says everything.
He Arrived with His Luggage and Raised His Arm
Benjamin Philip has been to fourteen countries. He has filed dispatches from the barrel cellars of Tequila, from roadside Pajarete stands at dawn in Jalisco, from a café in Mexico where the cappuccino costs sixty-eight pesos and earns a perfect score. He is our Global Correspondent, and he has seen enough of the world to know what a Best Day looks like when he arrives at one.
He arrived at Château Marconne in the afternoon. He came through the gate, crossed the courtyard, set down his luggage, and raised his arm. The photograph was taken at that moment. It is the best photograph we have published in this magazine, not because of the composition, but because of what it means: a man who has been to fourteen countries, standing in the courtyard of a 130-year-old château in the north of France, and knowing exactly where he is.
The château is available to rent. Benjamin Philip has been there. He raised his arm. That is our recommendation.
"Live your best days at the château."
— Gerald Shaffer, Editor
130 Years of History
Château Marconne was built in 1894, near the church in the village of Marconne, in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France. The architect was Alfred Ronfort, from Auchy-lès-Hesdin, who built churches, schools, and presbyteries across the Frugeois. The style is Flemish — the influence of the Low Countries visible in the roofline, the proportions, the way the stone sits in the northern light.
The man who commissioned it was Paul-Hypolite Willame — pharmacist, civic leader, and mayor of the nearby town of Hesdin from 1895 to 1902. Under his tenure, the town got gas lamps, telephone lines, and a theatre. He was, by all accounts, a man who understood what a place could be.
His son Paul Adolphe, a painter, lived in the château and exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris. The family occupied the house through the early twentieth century, until the war changed everything.
During the German occupation, the château was requisitioned. A meal was served in the dining room in honour of Hermann Goering. The local testimony, recorded in Nicolle Froissart's "Mémoires Vives", is unambiguous: a local man was requisitioned to serve the meal, and he recognised Goering. The dining room where you will eat your breakfast was that dining room.
After the war, the château passed to the Catholic Church through the donation of the pious Madame Lechanteur. It housed a private Catholic boys' school, then a professional school run by nuns, until the end of the 1980s. In 2002, it was purchased by the English and entirely restored. It has been a private holiday rental for a wealthy, predominantly foreign clientele ever since.
Built for Paul-Hypolite Willame, pharmacist and last mayor of Hesdin in the 19th century. Designed by Alfred Ronfort in the Flemish style of the 16th century.
Willame serves as mayor of Hesdin. Under his mandate: gas lamps installed, telephone connection established, the city theatre created.
Paul Adolphe Willame, painter, exhibits at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris. His daughter Antoinette marries a Parisian in 1924.
Requisitioned by the Germans. A meal is served in the dining room in honour of Goering. The château survives the war intact.
Antoinette Lechanteur departs for the Croisette in Cannes. The château is donated to the Catholic Church.
Houses the private Catholic school for boys of Hesdin, then a professional school run by nuns.
Purchased by the English and entirely restored. Becomes a holiday rental for a wealthy, predominantly foreign clientele.
Available to rent. Five hectares, century-old trees, a small lake, a wine cellar, and a dining room where history was made. Live your best days here.
The stone façade (1894) and the formal gardens. Five hectares. Photography: Benjamin Philip
Inside the Château
The Grand Salon
The original fireplace. Period furniture. The proportions of a room that was designed to impress, and still does. The salon is where you will have your first drink on the first evening, and it will be the right drink in the right room.
The Dining Room
The long table. Set for dinner. In 1943 or 1944, a local man was requisitioned to serve a meal in this room in honour of Goering. He recognised him. The room has had more peaceful dinners since. Yours will be one of them.
The Wine Cellar
Stone arches. Bottle racks. The original cellar, restored. This is where the evening ends, if you are doing it correctly.
The Bedrooms
Canopied beds. Period furnishings. The kind of bedroom that makes you understand why the French aristocracy never wanted to leave their châteaux. You will understand this on the first morning.
The courtyard
Five hectares
The private lake
Gerald's Scorecard
The History
10/10Built in 1894 for the last mayor of Hesdin. A painter son who exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris. Requisitioned by the Germans in WWII — Goering himself was served a meal in this dining room. Then a Catholic boys' school run by nuns until the 1980s. Then yours, for a week, if you want it.
The Grounds
10/10Five hectares of formal French gardens, century-old trees, and a small private lake. The kind of grounds that make you understand why the French invented the word 'promenade'.
The Interior
10/10Fully restored by the English in 2002. Grand salon with ornate fireplace, formal dining room that seats twelve, wine cellar with stone arches, canopied bedrooms. Every room has a reason to exist.
The Setting
10/10Marconne, Pas-de-Calais. Near Hesdin, in the Flemish-influenced north of France. Two hours from Paris, one hour from the Channel. The kind of place that does not appear on lists.
The Value
9/10A private château with five hectares, a wine cellar, and 130 years of history. For a week with a group, the per-person cost is less than a decent hotel in Paris. This is not a hotel. This is a château.
The Experience
10/10Benjamin Philip arrived in the courtyard with his luggage and raised his arm. That is the correct response to arriving at Château Marconne. It is the only response.
10 / 10
Overall — Just Gerald Magazine
Live Your Best Days at the Château
Château Marconne is available for private rental. Five hectares of formal French gardens, a private lake, a wine cellar with original stone arches, a dining room with 130 years of history, and canopied bedrooms that will make you understand the French concept of villégiature — the art of the holiday residence. Benjamin Philip has been there. He raised his arm. We recommend you do the same.
Story & Photography: Benjamin Philip, Global Correspondent · Words: Gerald Shaffer · Just Gerald Magazine