Château de Villette
The Château de Villette is a château located in Condécourt, France, 40 km northwest of Paris. There are numerous outbuildings including a chapel and adjacent reception room, horse stable and greenhouse.
History
More than of garden were designed by André Le Nôtre and spread out behind the château in the central axis with two rectangular lakes filled with swans, ducks, birds and fishes, as well as a cascade and fountain that resembles the one at Louis XIV's Château de Marly, surmounted by Neptune. The grounds provide outdoor activities for the château guests, including jogging, biking, and hunting. There is also a swimming pool and a tennis court. Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Le Nôtre designed the Palace of Versailles at the same time as they designed the Château de Villette in the 1680s. Therefore, Villette was nicknamed Le petit Versailles.Garden restoration timeline
FIRST RESTORATION – - after WWII, the park was damaged and was “entièrement restauré” in 1948 under the direction of the landscape/parks specialist Ferdinand Duprat. SECOND RESTORATION – During the 1960s, the estate was restored by its owner and then sold by his heirs to Chinese-American Olivia Hsu Decker in 1998.
THIRD RESTORATION -
The landscape agency Jean-Baptiste Duchêne carried out a project for the park, with missions including:
A preliminary study for restoring central parts of the domain: the Cour des Communs, Cour d’Honneur, the Parterre, and the Bosquets of the cascade.
Preparation of a tender dossier.
Assistance to follow up the work on site.
The program of intervention for that restoration included:
Hydraulic work
Restoring the landscape features:
Reestablishing the Grand Perspective East-West
Replanting the alignments at the Cour des Communs
Restoring the Parterre
Refilling the bosquets known as the cascade bosquets.
FOURTH RESTORATION
Major restoration campaign from about 2014, under architect-decorator Jacques Garcia.
FIFTH RESTORATION
Aivars Zvidris carried out a maintenance and restoration of the Villette park, including new plantings for the park:
A old wood cleaning works
Preparation and creation of a new lawns in park
Planting of new trees - creation of new Platanus hispanica alley
Planting of new trees – creation of new Quercus petrea alley
new conifers - magnolia zone with excellent collection of conifers and magnolias
implementation of a conifers hedges and new leaf trees in cleaned wooden zones
maintenance of all park, including central part with French garden
planting of Laurus noblis in Versailles planters in front of central entrance
Restoriation the old rosariums with new collection of Andre Eve roses
Restoration of the Kitchen-garden