Since c. 1450
The history of Château du Boscau
We're the latest in a long line of residents.
Château du Boscau has been here for almost a thousand years: first as a farm, then as the house that the Benedictine monk Gilles del Bosc built around 1450.
Before us, the Les Gindre family lived here for more than two hundred years. Since 2023 it’s been our turn: we’re Ester and Bob Veldman.
The full history
From a farm on a monastery map to the house where we now welcome guests.
“Le mas del Bosc”, the farm, appears on a map belonging to Beaulieu Abbey.
A dispute between the lords of del Bosc and their neighbours at Castelnau-Bretenoux castle is recorded in the archives.
The Benedictine monk Gilles del Bosc, dean of the priory of Carennac, builds the present-day house.
After the death of Gilles del Bosc, the house passes to the baron of Castelnau, who gives it to his butler.
Until the French Revolution it serves as a kind of guest house for Castelnau-Bretenoux castle.
The Les Gindre family takes over the house and runs a farm there for more than two hundred years.
Ester and Bob Veldman buy the château.
A year later they also open their tea garden.
The house in pictures
From the meadow
The château, on a clear winter’s day.
The tower
One of the towers, seen from the lawn.
The courtyard
The terrace in the courtyard.
Here, woodland and meadow blend into one another.
The estate
Around the château is our walled garden, with terraces and places to sit. Beyond it lie 10 hectares of woodland and meadow, with a small lake of our own, complete with a jetty, where you can fish.
The woodland
Part of the 10 hectares of woodland and meadow.
View over the estate
The estate and the valley, seen from the hill.
View across the valley
From the estate you look straight out over the valley.
Ester & Bob
We’re Ester and Bob Veldman, from the Netherlands, and we’ve lived here at Château du Boscau since 2023. We married in 1989 and have four children, all grown up now.
Ester spent many years as a primary school teacher. Bob worked in sales until 2008, then set up his own business buying, selling and restoring antique clocks and watches, first in Blokzijl and, from 2012, in Frederiksoord.
All those years spent with precise, centuries-old mechanisms are coming in handy now: a house from 1450, with its thick walls and stone tower staircase, needs just as much patience and craftsmanship as an antique clock. The clocks and watches Bob collected now have a home in the château itself.
From 2014, alongside her job, Ester also ran a small hospitality business. She enjoyed it so much that in 2018 she gave up teaching to devote herself to it full-time.
In 2023 we sold our business in Frederiksoord and bought Château du Boscau. A year later, alongside the self-catering apartments and the B&B room, we also opened our tea garden.
See you soon at Boscau.
Antique clocks
Bob traded in antique clocks and watches for many years.
Frederiksoord
Our base in Frederiksoord from 2012.
The château
The château, under a clear blue sky.
Ester and Bob
Ester and Bob, together by the window.
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