Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Chatenet Castle, located in Rétaud in Charente-Maritime, is a fortified flat house built on an archaeological site occupied from the Gallo-Roman era. Its history begins in the 14th century with the construction of a dungeon designed to monitor neighbouring roads, according to legend. The fief, originally linked to the commanderie des Épeaux de Meursac, was acquired in 1302 by Renaud de Beaumont, before moving to a younger branch of this family in the 15th century, which added a corner tower enclosure.

Over the centuries, the seigneury changed hands several times: from the Beaumonts to the Clermonts (including Jacques de Clermont, seigneur in 1497), then to the Gondis by marriage with Claude-Catherine de Clermont, lady of Dampierre-sur-Boutonne. In the 16th century, the Desmier family owned it until 1761, when the estate was sold to Pierre-Charles Mossion de La Gonterie. He sold it in 1771 to Michel-Joseph Froger de l'Eguille, an officer of the navy, whose heirs kept it until the 19th century.

The castle underwent major transformations, notably in the seventeenth century with the reconstruction of the gate and the integration of the dungeon into a new house body. After centuries of transmission (including that in the Favre in the 20th century, family of the MP Pierre-Albert Favre), the dungeon, classified in 1942, collapsed around 1963. Saved from abandonment in 1997 by the Arnauld Lions family, it has since been gradually restored.

Architecturally, the site combines a 12 metre rectangular dungeon (with screw staircase and defense floor), a fortified gate, and towers transformed into a pigeon house or laundry room. The oldest house houses a stone vestibule. Despite the destruction (like the south wing shaved in the 19th century), the castle bears witness to the defensive and residential evolutions between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

Protected since 1942 (classification of the dungeon, inscription of the rest), the castle of Chatenet embodies the turbulent history of the Saintonge, between seigneurial power, family heritages and architectural adaptations. Its recent rescue perpetuates this heritage marked by conflicts, alliances and social change.

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