We bet you didn’t know about Mick Jagger’s French château, a historic and architectural gem in France’s Loire Valley. The Château de Fourchette is an unmissable landmark in the town of Pocé-sur-Cisse, once the residence of celebrated army officer and diplomat Duke Étienne-François de Choiseul (1719-85). Today, it sits on 50 acres of elegantly landscaped gardens.
It’s no coincidence that Jagger chose to buy a house in this part of France, as he spent childhood vacations in the region, at the Île d’Or campsite, just 10 minutes by car from the château. He bought the rectangular building topped by a mansard roof in 1980 for 2.2 million francs (or $477,000), and he visits every summer. Locals note that during his annual birthday celebrations, on July 26, you may or may not see fireworks set off from the grounds. In addition to the sprawling acreage, which includes a pond, waterfall, swimming pool, and tennis court, the château also has its own Japanese pagoda.
It was also here that the Rolling Stones recorded their album A Bigger Bang, released in 2005. It was their first studio album after an eight-year hiatus. The château has a professional recording studio, occasionally seen on the rock star's Instagram. During the COVID lockdown, Jagger also filmed himself inside his château on several occasions, including for an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The singer takes time there to engage in typical rural activities, like tending his vegetable garden and pruning his rose bushes. He also takes on DIY projects—painting the home, repairing his car, and tending his sheep—as well as pastimes from cooking to playing guitar amid his formal gardens.
Jagger is well-known around town, of course, and locals will share accounts of their encounters with him. In one story first broadcast on France 3 in 2011, the residents of Pocé-sur-Cisse describe their interactions with the star. An upholsterer, now retired, who helped create the decor for the residence recalled working with precious fabrics for the château’s furnishings. “Depending on the sunlight, a fabric may appear red or yellow, and the room changes color,” he explained. “It was more than a lucky opportunity, because I was able to do things I would never have done otherwise. Fabrics like these are the only ones I’ve ever worked with that are this beautiful. With some of the armchairs that I made, I honestly didn’t know how to make them before.”
The upholsterer recalled an odd moment from his work on the Château de Fourchette: “When the decorator told me to drape the sink, I asked him how was I supposed to do that,” he said. He then showed off fragments of some of the expensive fabrics from England that were used to upholster Jagger’s sofas, describing them as a mix of beautiful and eclectic. “They’re not flashy but tasteful; they feel homey and not like something that belongs in a museum,” he concluded. “I always charge the same price for an armchair. Mick Jagger pays the same as any other customer.”
This inside look at Mick Jagger’s French château was originally published in AD France.
