Château Woolsack
| Château Woolsack | |
|---|---|
Château Woolsack | |
 Façade of the Château Woolsack at Mimizan | |
  Location within France | |
| Alternative names | The Woolsack |
| General information | |
| Type | Hunting Lodge |
| Architectural style | Tudor |
| Location | Mimizan, Landes, France |
| Town or city | Mimizan |
| Country | France |
| Coordinates | 44°13′35″N 1°13′11″W / 44.22639°N 1.21972°W |
| Current tenants | Residence |
| Construction started | 1911 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Detmar Blow and Fernand Billerey |
| Other designers | Based on design of Sir Herbert Baker |
The Château Woolsack or Château de Woolsack or The Woolsack is a former hunting lodge located in the commune of Mimizan in the department of Landes in the Aquitaine region of south-western France. Built in 1911 on the shores of Lake Aureilhan by Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, it is a replica in the Tudor style of the home of Rudyard Kipling - the author of The Jungle Book. It is on a site which has been listed and protected[1] since 18 July 1978.
Presentation
Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
The 2nd Duke of Westminster, born in 1879, came from one of the richest families of Great Britain.
Origins of the castle
The Duke came to Landes in 1910 on the advice of his friend Rawlinson who hunted wild boar at Mimizan with Mr. Bacon. He was captivated by the beautiful scenery.[2]
Shortly after this first visit the Duke purchased a wooded area of over 10 hectares on the banks of Lake Aureilhan to build a hunting lodge.[3] It was offered to him by the British Crown in recognition of the courage he showed during the Second Boer War and for services rendered.[citation needed]
Construction work began in 1911. The architects Detmar Blow and Fernand Billerey used plans made by Sir Herbert Baker for the property "Woolsack" in South Africa which was built by Cecil Rhodes for Rudyard Kipling, and which also inspired the name of the property in Mimizan.[1]
Life at the château
The Duke of Westminster regularly stayed in his new Tudor style of Cape Town property[4] until 1940 and for some time beyond for official obligations. In the absence at the time of any land access, the Duke used a boat to access his property, where he organized hunts and receptions. His coming was an important event for the region: many inhabitants of the town were in his service.[5]
An English quarter was built next to the castle: a dozen bungalows, all in white and black lacquered wood. They accommodated the grooms alongside the stables. This area was also occupied by the staff who organised hunting parties, the steward, the head housekeeper, the dog handlers, the mule-drivers, the chauffeur, and the Duke's friends.[5] There were thirty horses occupying the stables and no less than sixty dogs in the kennels.[2]
In her memoirs, Loelia Ponsonby, the third wife of the Duke, wrote about Woolsack: "There I cut down trees to reveal the view of the lake, I arranged the steps to go down to the water".[3]
Notable guests
From 1924 to 1930 Coco Chanel was a close friend of the Duke and a privileged visitor to the castle where she came to revitalise herself. She was sometimes in the company of the seamstresses of her workshop to whom she offered a dream holiday in Le Pylon villa,[6] years before the introduction of paid holidays.
Other personalities of the interwar period followed such as:
Recreation
The area is rich in game.
During his time the Duke wanted a wild hunting lodge and to limit access to the Lake of Aureilhan. To this end he built a pontoon which was always visible and made the crossing by motorboat.[5]
After the Duke
In the
On 7 February 1947 the Duke married for the fourth time to Nancy Anne Winifred Sullivan. When the couple were about to come for a honeymoon in Woolsack, the house caught fire on the night of 23 February 1947 and a large part was burnt. The Duke returned to Woolsack only once before his death in 1953 to decide the sale of his property.[3] Restored by Mr. Sargos, the chateau then became the property of Groupe Gascogne in the 1980s who intended it for seminars and receptions. It is now privately owned by individuals.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Presentation panel of the monument onsite
- ^ a b c Exposition ASEM Archeology at Mimizan, July 2009
- ^ a b c Mimizan, Woolsack, Coco Chanel, and Le Pylone, Georges Cassagne, imprimerie Andres à Labouheyre, June 2011 (in French)
- ^ Mimizan, a nod at the past, Georges Cassagne, édition Atlantica, 2007, p 91 (in French)
- ^ a b c Mimizan, Pearl of the Silver Coast, d'Hervé Foglia (in French)
- ^ A Guesthouse located at the end of the Rue de la Poste at Mimizan beach