Governor of the Bastille of Acy, lord of Beu and Nesle-en-Tardenois, chamberlain of the King. He is quoted in numerous documents between 1386 and November 1404, date of his death that are now held in the department of manuscripts of the Bibliothèque nationale de France . The last governor to hold this position, the unfortunate Bernard-René de Launay, appointed in 1776, was beheaded on 14 July 1789 and replaced by a provisional governor during the demolition of the building. At the end of the Ancien Régime, the governor of the Bastille was reduced to being a subordinate of the lieutenant-general of police. He could
Chateau and Seigneurie de Launay Launay to something of its noble past. He extensively repaired and upgraded the interior and also undertook ambitious renovations of the west wing of the château. He began the process of reversing the damage done during and subsequent to the war, a project which continues to the present. In 1979 Cléach, having acquired the large Château de Lorresse sold Launay to Jacques Maes. Maes continued with improvements to the buildings and repurchased some of the former land holdings, bringing the current expanse to 38 acres. In 2000 Maes sold Launay with its expanded property to David and Marie-Laure MacKee (Baron