Our goal: to restore the château’s chapel!
The chapel at Château de Gizeux is in need of major restoration work: whatever your motivation and means, you can join us in preserving this place that is so closely linked to the life of the château.
Become our patron!
If you would like to support us in this project, you can become a patron:
- Every winter, by contributing to our targeted annual campaign between November and January
- All year round, making a wider contribution to the restoration project as a whole
A few words about the chapel and its work
A little hidden at first glance, it can be discovered through the Discreet Garden. This late 15th – early 16th century building, completely redecorated in the 1880s, has suffered from water seepage through the roofs and semi-buried walls, which has damaged the painted decorations on the vault and choir walls. The 17th-century altar frontal in embossed and painted Cordoba leather also deserved a thorough restoration (completed in the summer of 2024).
The restoration work will extend over several years. This work is extremely costly, and only sponsorship will enable us to complete it.
Step 1: Stabilising painted decorations
Before considering the building works, the priority was to secure the interior painted decorations, which were in imminent danger. The damp had made the plaster coating on the walls crumbly. It was peeling off in large pieces, threatening to fall off. The aim of the first action was to stabilise their condition so that they would hold while the structural work was carried out. The mobilisation of around a hundred people during the 2020 sponsorship campaign enabled us to carry out this emergency work in May 2022.
Step 2: Restoring the roof
In 2022 and 2023, nearly 300 patrons once again supported us in raising the funds needed for the roofing work. There was an urgent need to restore the watertightness of the structure by renovating the roof: replacing the slates, damaged parts of the framework and deteriorated ashlar. Work began in summer 2024 with the installation of scaffolding covering the building, and will be completed in spring 2025.
Step 3: Restoring the bell tower
During the roofing works, we made a discovery: an inscription that tells us that, at the beginning of the 20th century, part of the bell tower collapsed, and that it was topped by a cross at that time! But it was hastily restored: the slates were set directly back into the ashlar, and the cross was never rebuilt. So, at the end of 2024, we’re asking all heritage lovers to help fund the restoration of the bell tower and its cross!
Crowdfunding for heritage conservation
Every year since 2013, we’ve been running an online sponsorship campaign. The first six years have enabled us to carry out the necessary work in the Galerie des Châteaux du Roy to fully restore it.
In 2019, we set ourselves a new challenge: restoring the chapel. After stabilising the decorations and starting work on the roof, this year the focus is on restoring the bell tower and its missing cross.
We need your help to save the Château chapel! You too can play your part in preserving this heritage from the past so that it can be admired by future generations…
© Château de Gizeux 37340 Gizeux
Pictures: ADT Touraine – JC Coutant and Chateau de Gizeux
