Manoir de la Becthière

The Manoir de la Becthière stands in Druye, a small village in the Indre-et-Loire department, roughly a fifteen-minute drive southwest of Tours. It holds a distinction that sets it apart locally: it is the only building in the whole commune listed as a historic monument, which is reason enough for visitors tracing Touraine's rural manor houses to stop here.

What was this manor originally called?

Property names in this part of France tend to drift across centuries, and La Becthière is no exception. Around 1314 it appeared in records as La Beguetière or La Bertelière; by 1571 it was written as La Becquetière; the name settled into its present form, La Becthière, only after the 1821 land survey fixed it in the cadastre. Following these shifting spellings is one way local historians have pieced together the chain of ownership over four centuries.

Who owned the manor over the centuries?

Ownership passed through a sequence of provincial gentry and, later, financial officials. Pierre Dupuy, an esquire, held the estate in 1571; François de Vonne followed in 1581; Alexandre Desjardins owned it around 1660; Nicolas Baudard took possession in 1721; Pierre Cuisinier des Blinières held it by 1752; and Henri Quinquet, lord of Rochepinart and a tax director in Angers and Tours, acquired it in 1770. That last name signals how, by the late eighteenth century, the manor had moved into the hands of the era's administrative elite rather than old rural nobility alone.

What does the building look like today?

Construction of the main structure dates to the close of the fifteenth century, with substantial alterations carried out in the eighteenth. The courtyard-facing façade, built of dressed stone, is anchored at each end by a round corbelled turret capped with a pointed roof; a matching turret rises at the northwest corner. A fourth tower once stood at the southwest corner, intended as a fortified bretèche, but it no longer survives. The main entrance on the east side was reworked in the seventeenth century, gaining a dressed stone lintel and cornice, while inside the vestibule a straight staircase with carved balusters was installed during the same period.

Is there a chapel on the grounds?

Yes. A small rectangular oratory sits southeast of the courtyard. Its origins trace back to the late fifteenth century, though the structure visitors see today largely reflects work carried out around 1674. Together with the façades and roofs of the main house, the chapel has been under legal protection since a listing order dated 18 June 1962.

Can visitors go inside?

The manor remains private property, so there is no public access to the interior and no set visiting hours. Travelers passing through Druye can still view the turrets and stone façades from the surrounding lanes, which is enough to appreciate the scale of the fifteenth-century construction. Druye itself is a quiet farming village bordered by woodland near the Cher valley, making it a convenient stop for anyone touring the Loire Valley's château country from a base in Tours.

Frequently asked questions

Can you visit the inside of the Manoir de la Becthière? No. It is privately owned, so only the exterior can be viewed from the public roads around the property.

How old is the manor? The main building dates to the late fifteenth century and was altered in the eighteenth; the courtyard chapel was largely rebuilt around 1674.

Why is this manor significant for Druye? It is the only listed historic monument in the entire commune, making it the village's principal historical landmark.

How far is Druye from Tours? About fifteen to twenty minutes by car, southwest of central Tours toward the Cher valley.