Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Prades mansion, located in Lafox in Lot-et-Garonne, is a plain castle built in the early 16th century by the Cortète family. It stands on an eminence between the Garonne and Séoun valleys, combining a defensive function (created enclosure, murderous) and a seigneurial house decorated with turrets. The seigneury was originally owned by Martial de Cortète (circa 1450–after 1521), an influential jurist and lieutenant of the Senechal d'Agenais, who inherited the territory in 1489. His son, Bernard de Cortète, launched the construction of the mansion around 1521, as evidenced by a 1528 court proceeding.

The lineage of the Cortetes, marked by military and judicial careers, occupied the mansion until the 17th century. François de Cortète (1586–1667), poet and soldier, resided there and partially altered the structure in 1665 after a collapse of the foundations, removing a floor and adding wings in square. His son, John James II, gradually sold land to maintain the estate, before the family gave up the mansion to the Daurée by marriage in 1685. The latter, like Bernard Dauré (1656–1733), lieutenant-general at the presidial of Agen, preserved the site until the 20th century.

The mansion passed through the Revolution without damage, then was passed by female inheritance to Brigitte de Larrard, a direct descendant of Bernard de Cortète. Ranked a historic monument in 1959, it has since 2001 benefited from major restorations (DRAC, department), supervised by the architect Axel Letellier. Its architecture combines a rectangular house with turrets, a pentagonal tower with a spiral staircase, and an inner courtyard with reception buildings. The chapel, visited by the bishop in 1667, was forbidden for its degraded state.

The Cortetes, local figures, illustrate the social ascension by law and weapons: Martial, doctor of law and judge, his grandson François, lieutenant criminal, or Jean-Jacques I, captain leaguer and then faithful to Henri IV. Their alliances (Durfort, Caumont) and their involvement in religious conflicts (Ligue, Thirty Years' War) reflect the tensions of the time. The manor, symbol of their power, also became a cultural home with François de Cortète, poet in Agenese dialect, celebrated by Godolin and Regnier.

The history of the estate is marked by architectural adaptations (arasement of the second floor in 1665) and disputes, such as that of the funerary liter (1700) between the Cortete heirs and the parish priest of Saint Christophe. The Dauré, military (Saint Louis Cross, Battle of Fontenoy), perpetuated the seigneurial vocation until the 19th century. Today, the mansion, still privately owned, bears witness to five centuries of local history, mixing built heritage and family memory.

External links