Campaigners fail to save doomed Walloon castle

Demolition work started on doomed Château de Noisy in the Namur province on Thursday morning. Local and national press gathered for one last time on the site as cranes and bulldozers surrounded the Neo-Gothic structure.

While the turrets had already been removed earlier in the week, the demolition team now has one year in which to clear the site, piece by piece, retaining the most valuable items. Entrepreneur Castagnetti has announced that for €5 million it would deliver each piece to a potential buyer, but would not reconstruct it.

After the press conference in which the work of the demolition team was outlined, journalists and photographers were given one hour to visit the domain for a final time, including the interior entrance hall and the once majestic staircase.

The local community and multiple associations had rallied in a list-ditch attempt to save the 100-room haunting stone structure, among them, nonprofit Aresno and Facebook group Sauvegarde du Château de Noisy. They had unsuccessfully appealed for the castle to be classified as a monument of outstanding heritage.

The fate of the much-loved castle attracted considerable media attention, but campaigners were unable to revoke a demolition order ordered by its owner Comte du Liedekerke-Beaufort. It was awarded in 2015 by the Wallonia Region on grounds of safety and a lack of financial resources to restore it.

Built between 1866 and 1907, and designed by English architect Edward Milner in a Neo-Tudor and Scots baronial style, the building boasts turrets and an imposing clock tower. Partly hidden among woods in the village of Celles in the commune of Houyet, the castle has been abandoned since 1991, subsequently suffering damage from water, fire and vandalism.