Governor of the Bastille he wrote to the Lieutenant-General of Police: "The head of Monsieur La Riviere is always heated and I begin to despair that his poor head may not heal without the remedy ... With profound respect ... " On the sidelines the magistrate wrote: "To hang" Bernard-Rene Jourdan de Launay was the last Governor of the Bastille and took his post in October 1776. He paid Jumilhac 300,000 livres for his post as governor. The Marquis de Launay was born in the Bastille in 1740. His father, René Jourdan de Launay, had already been governor for twelve years and died there
Chateau and Seigneurie de Launay ownership of the château changed hands four more times. Much of the land was sold off. At its nadir Grandmaison/ Launay included only 3.4 ha of land. In 1912 the property was purchased by the wealthy Rolot family of Paris. It became the principal residence of the son, Jacques Rolot, having earlier served the small family as a summer home. Jaques Rolot fled with his family in advance of the invading Germans in 1940. The château was occupied by the Germans throughout most of the war, serving as a command center (9th Panzer Division) and quarters for German officers. Early