Jean-François Leroy was a French architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

. For the Prince of Condé, he worked on the Château of Chantilly, the Palais Bourbon

Palais Bourbon

The Palais Bourbon, , a palace located on the left bank of the Seine, across from the Place de la Concorde, Paris , is the seat of the French National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French government.-History:...

, and the Hôtel de Lassay, where he replaced Claude Billard Bélisard in 1780.

Biography

Leroy was born in Chantilly

Chantilly, Oise

Chantilly is a small city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune in the department of Oise.It is in the metropolitan area of Paris 38.4 km...

, the son of Jean-Jacques Leroy, building inspector of the Prince of Condé

Prince of Condé

The Most Serene House of Condé is a historical French house, a noble lineage of descent from a single ancestor...

, and Mary-Anne Dunu, daughter of the superintendent of the Château de Chantilly

Château de Chantilly

The Château de Chantilly is a historic château located in the town of Chantilly, France. It comprises two attached buildings; the Grand Château, destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s, and the Petit Château which was built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency...

. He entered the service of the prince, following his father. In 1761, he married Toudouze Françoise-Thérèse, daughter of the prince's master of the hunt

Master of the hunt

Master of the Hunt or Huntmaster can refer to*an office held in the organization of hunting in a particular area, such as Master of foxhounds in hunts that use dogs....

. He was appointed architect of the Château de Chantilly in 1768, upon the death of his predecessor, Brice Le Chauve.

In Chantilly, he built the Château d'Enghien

Château d'Enghien (Chantilly)

The Château d'Enghien in Chantilly, France is a building within the park of the Château de Chantilly.It is a long, neoclassical building, designed by Jean-François Leroy in 1769 as lodging for the guests that Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé entertained at Chantilly.It was later named in honor of his...

 (1769–1770) and the Hameau de Chantilly

Hameau de Chantilly

The Hameau de Chantilly is a folly in the park of the Château de Chantilly built in 1774 and consisting of seven rustic thatched cottages with luxurious interiors set in a garden....

 (1774–1775).

He worked with Claude Billard Bélisard on the Palais Bourbon and the Hôtel de Lassay, and then succeeded him in about 1780. In 1782 he revised Bélisard's plan for the Place du Palais Bourbon.

With the landscaper Lecourt, he created the picturesque gardens of Betz-en-Multien

Betz, Oise

Betz is a small village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.-References:*...

 for the Princess of Monaco, mistress of the Prince of Condé; all that remains is a prostyle

Prostyle

Prostyle is an architectural term defining free standing columns across the front of a building, as often in a portico. The term is often used as an adjective when referring to the portico of a classical building which projects from the main structure...

 Ionic

Ionic order

The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...

temple of Love.

Sources

• Michel Gallet, Les architectes parisiens du XVIII^e siècle, Paris, Éditions Mengès, 1995. ISBN 2856203701
• Gustave Macon, Les Arts dans la maison de Condé, Librairie de l’Art Ancien et Moderne, Paris 1903, p. 98
• C.-M. Dugas, "Une dynastie d'architectes, les Leroy", Bulletin de la Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Senlis, 1959.