Charles Alfred Chastel de Boinville
Anglo-French architect

Charles Alfred Chastel de Boinville (1849 – April 25, 1897) was an Anglo-French architect, who worked in Japan and Britain. His father was a well known clergyman who completed 30 years of missionary service in France, and left several publications on his life such as Thomas Constable's Memoir.
Early life
His ancestor prospered during the ancien régime in Lorraine, and owned estate named Boinville. His great-grandfather, Jean Baptiste Chastel de Boinville, became much associated with Lafayette in political matters, and served as aide-de-camp under him. When the French Revolution broke out, and the King and Queen were brought from Versailles to Paris, they were escorted by Lafayette, who rode on one side of the carriage, and by Boinville on the other.
Like many other noble unfortunates, Jean Baptiste's estates were confiscated by the Revolutionary Government. He escaped to Britain where he met a wealthy supporter of French emigres, John Collins, a sugar planter in St. Vincent. Jean Baptiste fell in love with a daughter of Collins, Harriet and got married at the Gretna Green. They had a son John Collins Alfred and a daughter Cornelia Pauline Eugenia.
The public source identifies “Charles Alfred Chastel de Boinville” as anglo-French architect. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Charles, Alfred and Chastel.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q62601222. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1849 and 1897.
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This entry incorporates text from “Charles Alfred Chastel de Boinville” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.