Castle of Fouquières

The castle of Fouquières , high in the years 1760, was restored in 1811 per Augustin-Louis Doresmieulx, wire of the former lord of Fouquières, and by his wife Charlotte-Alexandre de Beaulaincourt.

Doresmieulx, lords of Fouquières at the XVIIIe century

The seigniory of Fouquières had been sold in 1700 by the marquis de Saluces-Bernemicourt to Edouard-Jacques Doresmieulx, former alderman of Saint-Omer, fix at Béthune after its marriage with Catherine Roulx. His/her son Jacques-François Doresmieulx, died in 1755, prefers to live Saint-Omer and the old home seigneurial of Fouquières was then certainly converted of agricultural use. The elder one of its four sons, Jacques-Alexandre Doresmieulx, takes again the seigniory of Fouquières and takes an active part in the rebuilding of the parish church, decided in 1760 but only carried out in 1767. It remakes to build the castle, completed in 1770. With its death, in 1778, it is Alexandre-Constant Doresmieulx, his/her brother, who takes again the seigniory of Fouquières. He was pomegranate captain to the regiment of Resident of Auxerre-Infantry, affected in 1775 in Martinique. Of return in France for health reason, it shares its time between its ground of Fouquières which it gets busy to increase (it acquires of the duke of Guînes in 1782 the seigniory vicomtière of Fouquières) and Saint-Omer. He is elected mayor of Fouquières in 1790. The Revolution obliges it to leave the country, to begin in the Army of the Princes and to give up its goods which were sold by the Nation. He dies extremely old in Saint-Omer in 1827 and is buried near his wife in the funerary vault of Doresmieulx, in the parish church vis-a-vis the sacristy.

Devolution of the castle with XIXe and XXe centuries

His/her son Augustin-Louis Doresmieulx inherits the castle and undertakes work of importance there. The castle was then the residence of Charles-Alexandre (1807-1888), outgoing officer of cuirassiers in 1830, husband of Céligne Enlart de Guémy (1821-1866), which continued in the years the 1840 work undertaken by his/her father. But a typhoid fever contracted at the time of a hunting for the wolf left it soon definitively decreased, leaving with his wife the management of her goods. The latter decides construction of a superb body of dependences.

Their oldest son Rene-Alexandre (1845-1944), mayor of Fouquières during nearly one half-century, husband of Marie-Armandine-Mathilde de Romanet of Beaune, was the last of Doresmieulx. Not having a heir to perpetuate the name (his/her single son, Ferdinand, died a few months after its birth and his/her brother Edouard-Louis, examining magistrate with Saint-pol., did not leave children) and considering that his/her daughters were not going thereafter to preserve a castle requiring a complete repair and not fulfilling the modern requirements of comfort, it was satisfied with a minimal maintenance of the castle.

The castle échut with its death with the one of his/her four daughters, Valentine (1888-1981), wife (1914) of Jean-Marie-Raoul-Alphonse-Henry Baudenet d' Annoux (? - 1964), grandparents of the current owner.

This residence suffered from a long abandonment, a scandalous vandalism in the years 1980 and from an important land parcelling out.

Its restoration in progress deserves however to be encouraged: the park is beautiful proportions, the dependences of great quality and the castle itself has a beautiful ordinance which mask unfortunately sad coated still today with gray cement.

The castle of Fouquières, in its structure, is very representative of the Artesian lifestyle of a family of gentilhommes " moyens" XIXe century.

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