Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Pressac, located in Limousin Charente, has its origins in the 11th century. At that time, the fief belonged to Barbe Galiène (or Bénédicte Gallin), who brought him in dowry to Louis-Guillaume de Fezensac, youngest of the house of Montesquiou. Their descendants retained the estate until the 16th century. The original castle, composed of two northern towers connected by a house built in the 14th century, was burned by the English during the Hundred Years' War after his lord, faithful to the King of France, was taken back there.

In the mid-16th century, Anne de Pressac and her husband Jean de Singarreau obtained permission to rebuild the castle, then in ruins. The work is accompanied by major developments. In 1613, the estate passed to Abzac by marriage, which added terraces and continued the transformations. In 1779 Léonard Peyroche, a limo merchant and future mayor of Saint-Quentin, acquired the castle for debts. Without a direct heir, he left him to his niece Maria Anne Peyroche, wife of the Baron of La Bastide, family still owner today.

The 19th century saw a restoration of the main house by Paul de La Bastide, which modified the green living room and removed the chapel. During the Second World War, the castle houses the Maquis FTP of Chabanais and serves as a place of interrogation under occupation. Its current architecture, with a three-storey house body flanked by pepper towers, dominates a landscape of terraces and lawns. Although private, it bears witness to eight centuries of seigneurial and military history in Charente.

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