La Demeure Saint Antoine
Our Team
The People Who Keep the House Alive
Before entering the family line, it is important to begin with those who keep La Demeure Saint Antoine alive today.
Behind every room prepared, every table laid, every meal served and every guest welcomed, there is a team whose work is discreet, essential and deeply connected to the spirit of the house. Some have been here for many years, carrying with them the gestures, habits and quiet knowledge that make a place feel lived in rather than staged.
Their role is part of the story too. La Demeure Saint Antoine has never been only about owners, portraits or inheritance. It has always been a place shaped by the people who worked in it, cared for it, received in it and helped it continue from one generation to the next.
Today, that same spirit remains visible in the team: in the kitchen, the service, the rooms, the gardens and the daily rhythm of the house. They are part of what makes La Demeure Saint Antoine not only a historic family home, but a living one.
The Line- A house saved again and again
La Demeure Saint Antoine is not only the story of a house, but of the generations who shaped it, preserved it and carried it forward.
From artists, planters and innovators to mothers, daughters, heirs and guardians, the history of the estate has passed through many hands. Each generation inherited more than land. They inherited a responsibility: to keep alive a place of work, welcome, memory and family continuity.
This family line traces some of the key figures connected to the estate, from Toussaint de Chazal de Chamarel, the first of the line born in Mauritius, to the generations who brought it into the Grivel family.
Toussaint Antoine de Chazal de Chamarel
Born: 1770
Died: 1822
Married to: Charlotte Julienne Anne Laurence Rivalz deSaint Antoine
Children: 6 children
The first member of the Chazal family to be born in Mauritius, Toussaint was a gifted painter, naturalist and man of great curiosity. On his return from France in 1796, he inherited a substantial family estate from his uncle François de Chazal and his maternal grandmother. He settled at Mondrain, while his brother Charles took over the lands of Chamarel.
Passionate about art, botany and agriculture, Toussaint left a remarkable artistic legacy. His self-portrait can still be admired today in the living room of La Demeure Saint Antoine, a beautiful reminder of the family's history and its enduring connection to the house.
Joseph-Antoine Edmond de Chazal
Known as Edmond
Born: 2 March 1809
Died: 12 February 1879
Married to: Marguerite Claire Rouillard
Children: 16 children
Joseph-Antoine Edmond de Chazal was the founding figure of Saint Antoine as a family estate. Under his direction, the estate became a place of work, agriculture, hospitality, faith and responsibility.
A planter, innovator, host and man of conviction, Edmond expanded the estate, improved the sugar works and brought great energy to the property. But his legacy was not only practical. Through his faith, discipline and sense of duty, he passed on a moral inheritance: humility, charity, responsibility and the belief that a family estate was something to serve, not simply to own.
Marguerite Claire de Chazal, née Rouillard
Born: 1819
Died: 26 February 1889
Married to: Joseph-Antoine Edmond de Chazal
Children: 16 children
Marguerite Claire de Chazal was the quiet strength of Saint Antoine. Beside Edmond’s force and ambition, she brought patience, grace and endurance. She was a mother, hostess, organiser and protector, remembered for her thoughtful generosity and for the delicate way she helped those in difficulty.
Her role became essential when the estate was threatened during Edmond’s financial crisis in the 1870s. Claire secured legal protection for her own possessions and used her resources to buy back Saint Antoine when Edmond’s assets were sold to repay creditors. Through her courage and practical intelligence, the family home remained in the family.
Toussaint-Antoine Régis de Chazal
Known as Régis
Born: 13 December 1854
Died: 1936
Married to: Marie-Caroline Eléonore Le Maire
Children: Marcel, Robert, Irène and Olga
Régis de Chazal became one of the great guardians of Saint Antoine. Educated in Paris and trained as an engineer, he understood the estate not only as an inheritance, but as something to restore, manage and protect.
In 1889, Régis joined with Auguste, Rodolphe, Edmée Rouillard and Berthe Mayer to purchase the estate and keep it within the family. He then gradually consolidated ownership, buying Rodolphe’s share in 1908, Auguste’s in 1909, and continuing to acquire the remaining family interests. By 1916, he had become the sole owner of Saint Antoine.
His chapter was one of discipline, preservation and practical responsibility. Yet it was also marked by sorrow. Both of his sons, Marcel and Robert, died young, so the future of Saint Antoine passed not through his sons, but through his daughters.
Olga de Chazal de Nanclas
Born: 16 February 1894
Died: 1974, to verify
Married to: Daniel Bourdon de Nanclas
Children: Marcel de Nanclas and Claire de Nanclas
Olga de Chazal de Nanclas was the younger daughter of Régis de Chazal and Marie-Caroline Eléonore Le Maire. Through her, the story of Saint Antoine continued after the loss of Régis’s two sons, Marcel and Robert.
Remembered as gentle, kind and hospitable, Olga carried the estate through a chapter of distance, loss and return. After the death of her husband and after the war years, she returned in 1946 to Saint Antoine, the beloved home of her childhood.
Her return marked another act of continuity. Saint Antoine was not only inherited; it was remembered, loved and returned to. Through Olga, the estate passed into the Nanclas generation and prepared the way for Marcel and Claire.
Marcel de Nanclas
Born: 16th June 1914, at Saint Antoine
Died: 14th July 2008, in France
Son of: Olga de Chazal de Nanclas and Daniel Bourdon de Nanclas
Married to: Christiane Brétillot
Children: 4
Marcel de Nanclas was Olga’s son and part of the generation that had to carry Saint Antoine into a more modern and uncertain period.
A qualified engineer, he helped manage the estate at a time when the old sugar world was changing. Together with his brother-in-law, Comte Robert de Grivel, he helped run Saint Antoine and bring reforms and improvements.
Later, during the difficult years of sugar restructuring, Marcel sold his share. His chapter represents the practical management of Saint Antoine during a period of economic change, when the estate had to adapt in order to survive.
Claire de Nanclas de Grivel
Born: 8th April 1918
Died: 11th August 2016
Daughter of: Olga de Chazal de Nanclas and Daniel Bourdon de Nanclas
Married to: Comte Robert de Grivel
Children: 7
Claire de Nanclas de Grivel was Olga’s daughter and Marcel’s sister. Through her marriage to Comte Robert de Grivel, Saint Antoine entered the Grivel family line.
At one point, the property was shared between Marcel and Claire. When Marcel later sold his share, Claire chose to preserve Saint Antoine. In a difficult period, she accepted the loss of much of the land in order to keep the house itself and protect the family anchoring of the estate.
Like Marguerite Claire Rouillard before her, Claire de Nanclas became one of the women who protected Saint Antoine at a fragile moment. Through her, the house remained in the family and entered the next chapter of its history.
Comte Robert de Grivel
Born: 26th October 1912
Died: 2nd August 1965
Married to: Claire de Nanclas
Children: 7
Comte Robert de Grivel belongs to the line through his marriage to Claire de Nanclas. Alongside Marcel de Nanclas, he helped run Saint Antoine during a period of reform and adaptation.
Through Claire and Robert, Saint Antoine passed into the de Grivel family. Their chapter connects the old sugar estate, the Nanclas inheritance and the family who continue to carry the house today.
The Grivel family today
Today, Saint Antoine remains a family home, but also a heritage responsibility. The house is now opened to guests as La Demeure Saint Antoine, while still carrying the memory of the estate, the family and the generations who preserved it.
The property is shared between several members of the family and managed through a structured form of governance. This reflects the same idea that runs through the whole line: Saint Antoine cannot survive through affection alone. It must be cared for, organised, shared and kept alive.
The Grivel family today continues that responsibility, preserving Saint Antoine not as a frozen monument, but as a living house of memory, hospitality and continuity.
François de Grivel
Constantin de Grivel
Anne d'Harambure
Timothée de Grivel
Christine Brecard
Olivier de Grivel
Keeping the House Alive Today
Anne-Dauphine de Grivel has helped shape the present life of La Demeure Saint Antoine with discretion, care and attention to detail.
Encouraged by her mother-in-law, she helped open the family home to guests while preserving its spirit as a lived-in house rather than a formal hotel. Through the restaurant, the rooms, the service, the interiors and the team, she continues the art of receiving that has long belonged to Saint Antoine.
At the heart of her commitment lies a belief in the importance of protecting Mauritius's cultural heritage and keeping its history alive for future generations. For Anne-Dauphine, preserving Saint Antoine is not simply about maintaining an old house, but about safeguarding its family spirit, its traditions and the sense of belonging that has brought generations together.
Her role is quiet but essential: to ensure that Saint Antoine remains a family home at heart, open to others, cared for and very much alive.
Anne-Dauphine de Grivel