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Origin and history

The Prades mansion, located in Lafox in Lot-et-Garonne, is a plain castle built in the 16th century by Bernard de Cortète, son of Martial de Cortète, lord of Prades at the end of the 15th century. The latter, a jurist and influential man of the Agenas, inherited the territory of Prades and his seigneurial rights after his marriage to Anne de la Duguie in 1482. Bernard de Cortète, Doctor of Law and Consul of Agen, began the construction of the mansion around 1521, as evidenced by documents from 1528-1529. The castle, originally designed with a two-storey house flanked by four turrets and a pentagonal tower housing a spiral staircase, was surrounded by a creneled enclosure pierced by murderers, reflecting its defensive and residential role.

Cortète's family, originally from the Agenese aristocracy, kept the manor for several generations, with notable figures such as Jean-Jacques I of Cortète, gentleman of Queen Marguerite de Valois and leaguer before joining Henri IV in 1594. His grandson, François de Cortète (1586-1667), poet and military, took part in the campaigns of Italy and Catalonia under Louis XIII and embellished the estate. In 1665, problems of foundations forced to reduce the height of the house and to add wings in square to compensate for the loss of space. The mansion then went through an alliance with the Dauré family in the 17th century, which preserved it until the 20th century, despite architectural changes and litigation related to estate disputes.

In the 18th century, the mansion passed through the Revolution without damage, remaining in the descendants of Philippe Daurée, an officer decorated with the cross of Saint-Louis. In the 19th century, Louis-Antoine Daurée contributed to the erection of the municipality of Lafox, which had emerged from the parish of Saint-Christophe. Since 2001, the current owners, Brigitte and Bertrand de Larrard, descendants of Bernard de Cortète, have carried out important restoration work with the support of the DRAC Aquitaine and the department. Ranked a historic monument in 1959, the manor house is now open to visit, testifying to five centuries of seigneurial and architectural history in Agenais.

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