1. Amboise, town2. Château Gaillard, Amboise3. Tours, town4. Royal Château of Amboise5. Royal Château of Blois6. Château de Chenonceau7. Château de Nitray, Athée-sur-Cher8. Château d’Azay-le-Rideau9. Château de Chambord10. St. Anne's Collegiate Church, château, Ussé11. St. John the Baptist Collegiate Church, Montrésor12. Jehan de Seigné Chapel, Bléré13. Town hall, Beaugency14. Château de Villesavin, Tour-en-Sologne15. Château de l’Islette, Cheillé – Azay-le-Rideau16. Loches, town17. Château de Villandry18. Château de La Côte, Reugny19. Sainte-Chapelle, Champigny-sur-Veude20. Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, the Grand Moûtier and the Chapter House21
Le Rivau, stables of the château, Lémeré
The Château du Rivau is located south-east of Chinon, near the Veude Valley. The 13th century building was fortified by Captain Pierre de Beauvau in the mid-15th century, but the complex underwent alterations during the 18th and 19th centuries. Its original 17th century garden stretches out before it. In the outer courtyard stand the monumental 16th century stables.
These limestone stables were built before 1550 by Gabriel de Beauvau, lord of the château, Knight of the Order of St. Michael and Squire of the Royal Stables. Located in a vast outer courtyard, they are made up of two branches set at right angles, one of which was never finished. They were reinforced on the outside by a large corner tower, which is no longer standing. The third matching branch, which would have completed the axis of symmetry to create a U-shape, was never built. The unknown architect would have drawn inspiration from the stables of Champigny-sur-Veude (altered) and the works of Philibert de l'Orme. This innovative design was intended to be used as the main entrance to the château, as was the case around 1530 at Fontainebleau and Villers-Cotterêts, whose stables are no longer standing.
The façades are characterised by white string courses and openings on two floors, framed by large blocks of limestone with bossage. Aside from the general layout, the cannon-shaped gargoyles below the roof line and the staircase tower suspended in the corner, supported by a semicircular wall-mounted cavetto vault, reflect inspiration from Philibert de l'Orme.
The interior is accessed through a door in each wing and is made up of two large rooms with three-centred vaults and a smaller tack room. The rooms are decorated with equestrian-themed stone courses and strapwork cartouches. They could accommodate around thirty of Francis I's horses and allowed mares and stallions to be separated. The horses were tied to the inside of the blind wall, along which ran a feeding trough. The windows were glazed, a great luxury, but useful for controlling ventilation. The roof space was used to store grain.
Historically, stables were established inside the château compound to protect the horses. They were built of wood and were not prominent, remaining invisible amongst the other outbuildings. The Renaissance brought great changes to equestrian architecture as it did elsewhere. Permanent buildings made of stone or brick appeared and gradually became more ornate, decorated with bas-reliefs, sculptures and frescoes. Leonardo da Vinci designed stables for the Château de Romorantin, which would never be built. But while horses may be popular, their housing in France remains unappreciated.
The Rivau stables is a major building and stands out by its design, which gives it an important role in the château complex. Its owner, distanced from the royal capital - the court having moved to Ile-de-France around 1530 - went to great lengths to come up with a new space and create something innovative and impressive. These late Renaissance stables mean the arrival of significant change: the search for symmetry, order and especially a new hierarchy in the architectural complex that is the château.
