Château de Lucy sits in tranquility in 9 acres of woodland on the banks of the river L'Oise in the hamlet of Lucy near Ribemont, an easy 2 hour drive from Calais.

In a region steeped in battlefield history from times way back before the 11th century, Château de Lucy is situated on a Roman archaelogical site.

In more recent times, the Château was the Headquarters for the German army during both the First and Second World Wars and was occupied by Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Prussia (the eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II) during WWI.

Under the floorboards in one of the attics, we have found prayer books and a book of poems issued by the German army in 1916. (Were these the personal books of the Crown Prince?)

As a reminder of the Château's turbulent past, on the riverbank and about 20 yards from our kitchen door, we have a 'pill box' (machine gun fortification) which was built to defend the Château when it was occupied by German Officers in the Second World War.

After WWII, up until the 1980s, weddings and Christenings were held at the Château, with the last wedding being held in 1982. The château remained empty and uncared for and squatters moved in and did an enormous amount of damage. By the time that we rescued the château in 2006, it was very, very neglected and needed a huge amount of renovation.