Chateau de Hautefort

As elsewhere in Europe, an enthusiasm for Arts and Crafts ideals led to historically-influenced restoration work. Hautefort was once a Roman camp. It belonged to a famous troubadour-poet in the 12th century. The site is dramatic and commands extensive views ofﾅ.The present chateau was built between 1630 and 1670. In 1929, Baron Henry de Bastard and his wife began to restore the Chateau and its garden. They made neat parterres which nestle inside the fortifications in the medieval manner. But their planting owes more to the design ideas of the seventeenth century. The enthusiasm for old castles and clipped hedges can also be seen at Crathes and Sissinghurst.