Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay permanently stationed in Paris except in time of war. In 1776 de Launay succeeded M. de Jumilhac as Governor of the Bastille. As was the custom with many senior positions under the Ancien Régime, the marquis purchased the office of governor from his predecessor as a form of investment. The thirteen years that he spent in this position were uneventful, though on 19 December 1778 he reportedly made the mistake of failing to fire the cannon of the Bastille as a salute on the birth of a daughter (Madame Royale) to King Louis XVI. In August 1785 he was given
Chateau and Seigneurie de Launay to style himself as Sieur de Grandmaison. He pursued a military career, first as a lieutenant in the "Iron Regiment", later as Captain of the Queen's household. He died in January 1794. The Lombron Parish registry recorded that on Sunday, 18 September 1762 much of the seigneurial Grandmaison was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt and somewhat enlarged over the next two years. In another set back many of the Launay properties were confiscated by the Republicans (French Revolution) in June 1791. Three children were born to André Guyonneau and his wife, Anne Gabrielle Harrison d’ Auvours. Two boys died