Escape to the Chateau castle’s original owners revealed – and how property stood EMPTY for 40 years
THE stars of Escape to the Chateau have revealed the history of their castle, and who owned the property before them.
The reality-documentary series has been a staple on Channel 4 since it premiered in 2016, but chateau-owners Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree never addressed who exactly owned the derelict property before them.
Before the British couple bought the chateau in 2015, it stood empty for 40 years and fell into disrepair.
The Channel 4 series has followed the couple as they painstakingly restored the French 19th Century castle from top to bottom and turned it into an events venue.
To promote the show and their business, Dick and Angel have created a website, but it also features a section of information about the long history of their property, written by Dick.
It explains that from the 12th or 14th centuries, the chateau was a “fortified stronghold” in the parish of La Motte.
MORE ON ESCAPE TO THE CHATEAU
“However, it was not until 1406 that the Husson family, the Seigneurs of Montgiroux, named the castle, Chateau de la Motte Husson,” he added.
The chateau was owned by several generations of Hussons for almost 200 years.
Then, “in 1600, the estate was acquired by the de Baglion family, descendants of the princes of Perugia,” he noted.
The chateau remained in the care of the de Baglion for several hundred years, and was even rebuilt in the enclosure of the old square moat between 1868 and 1874.
Most read in News TV
He explained that it was occupied by Countess Dorothée and her husband at the time, and it was Dorothée’s decision to have the castle rebuilt.
Afterward, Dorothée and her family would spend their summers at the chateau, while travelling and staying at other properties throughout the rest of the year.
The chateau eventually became the properties of Dorothée’s descendants.
In 1954, Guy de Baglion de la Dufferie had received the title to the chateau from Xavier Marie Octave, Count de Baglion de la Dufferie and his wife, Elisabeth Marie Joseph Marthe Charlotte Treton de Vaujuas de Langan as a part of a dowry.
Guy de Baglion de la Dufferie owned the chateau until his death in 1999, when it was passed to his wife and children.
But, for the next four decades, the house remained empty, and eventually became derelict — that is, until Dick and Angel found it.
On their website, Dick explained that he and Angel still live in close proximity to the French family they purchased the chateau from.
“Our neighbours include members of the de Baglion family, who have been nothing but welcoming and continued to maintain the property even after we had paid our deposit,” he said.
Dick continued, explaining that the family planned to clear out all the “rubbish” from the attic before they moved in.
He said: “Fortunately we discovered this, in one of our trips to do some measuring, and managed to save treasures that vary from hundreds of pre-WWI magazines to a side-saddle and pieces of Victorian clothing.”
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The Sun
Many of the pieces they saved have been used to decorate their 19th Century home.
All eight seasons of Escape to the Chateau are available to watch on All4. Season 9 will premiere on Channel 4 later this year.
