On the outskirts of a peaceful hamlet in the Dordogne region in France, on an island surrounded by wide water-filled moats, crossed by a stone bridge, stand the imposing ruins of a castle built during the 14th and 15th centuries.
Abandoned since the 18th century, this flamboyant gothic-style building currently has French Historic Monument classification, and still has its original appearance. The present owners have not only contributed to its preservation but also studied its history for a better understanding of events.
State authorised archaeological excavations thus made it possible to find numerous relics of the past: the foundations of a chapel, several bread ovens, a fireplace and a watch tower, all dating from before the construction of the castle; pottery, glass, jewels and pieces of money were found as well.
Spanning approx. 1 ha (2.47 acres), the property also comprises two houses from the beginning of the 19th century which await renovation.
The building comprises a rectangular-shaped main building approx. 25 m (82 ft) long by 10 m (33 ft) wide (small rooms and large rooms), flanked by two round towers at the back (bedrooms and dungeons) containing square rooms of approx. 25 m² (269 sq ft). At the front, a third hexagonal tower contains an outstanding moulded, twisted spiral stairway, the top of which forms a spectacular palm tree-shaped vault. At the summit, a vaulted room makes a magnificent view point. In the 16th century, it housed the Seigneurial chapel.
The building has walls which are sometimes up to several metres (yards) thick, and harbours some wonderful features: superposed, “suspended” monumental fireplaces, stone corbels adorned with escutcheons, door frameworks forming a troughing angle, latrines that are still intact, loopholes, gunloops, dungeons, flamboyant richly decorated entrance door, mullioned and checkrail windows.
Real-Estate agent Patrice Besse said about the castle, “There is no doubt that this is a genuine regional symbol, a wonderful, small, “romantic” example of our architectural heritage such as we rarely find in ruins nowadays, and even more rarely find preserved and richly decorated. This pleasure to behold would be an incredible challenge for enthusiasts, enamoured with stone and history, to which we would be proud to have modestly contributed.”
The property consists of the more important of the two remaining towers and part of the main body. Developed in several floors, it 1400 square meters in size including wine cellar, garage and stable. A beautiful gothic window, decorated with the escutcheon of the Rossi family, overlooks the Baganza River. On the opposite side, a window with elegant terracotta decoration overlooks an internal yard. A small garden accessible from the stable and from an internal yard completes the property.
Second floor
The castle itself has 2,475 sq ft of living space, including a dining room, a reading and television room, a kitchen, 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.
The current owners also sent us some more information about the castle’s history: “Alogny’s château, today small and habitable, is but a shadow of its former glory, when it was graced with several towers and a moat. Most of the present structure dates from the 14th century, but incorporates remains of an earlier building constructed in the time of William the Conqueror almost a thousand years ago. The new wing, with its large Renaissance window and fine fireplace, was added in the 16th Century. The drawbridge survived up to the Revolution in the late 18th Century, and even within recent memory a great beam with shackles for securing prisoners still ran the length of what is now the kitchen. Several windows in the present building, particularly in the tower, show evidence (through their worn sills) of having been doorways leading through to other structures long since collapsed or demolished.
“After the revolution, we are told the château was used by nuns as a hospital for the poor, and was later occupied by three separate families living independently on the three main levels. A neighbor, who was raised on the lower level, when most of it had only dirt floors, reports that the tower staircase was considered unsafe to use, that water was drawn from the well on the lower terrace, and cooking as done over an open fire in an outdoor lean-to shelter. It remains unclear when the great bread oven was last in regular use.
