Domaine de Verderonne

The name Verderonne first appears in 1060 in a royal diploma where Philippe I ceded his rights over the lands to the abbey of Saint-Lucien de Beauvais. In the 13th century, the seigneury entered the prestigious house of Villers-Saint-Paul. In 1586, Gilles de l'Aubépine acquired the domain and erected a château on the medieval ruins, immortalized by an engraving by Israël Silvestre. His grandson Claude, loyal to the monarchy during the Fronde, saw the land elevated to a marquisat. Étienne-Louis, marquis de Beaucourt, gave the château its definitive appearance in 1725. In 1733, Saint-Simon visited his cousins there. In 1738, the ruined marquis sold Verderonne to the Comte d'Andlau, who hosted Marie-Henriette de Polastron, lady-in-waiting to the daughters of France. Their son Henri-Antoine d'Andlau married Geneviève Helvétius, daughter of the famous Enlightenment philosopher. In the gardens of Verderonne, new ideas and secrets from the circle of Marie-Antoinette were shared. In 1884, the domain was sold by General d'Andlau to a Parisian banker, M. Baudrier. After decades of neglect beginning in the 1960s, the current owners are restoring the estate.