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Origin and history

The castle of Allagnat, located in Ceyssat in Puy-de-Dôme, is a historical monument composed of buildings of various periods, organized around a courtyard. Its medieval origin is marked by a circular dungeon of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, built in basalt and lava bellows, with a conical roof in lauze. This three-storey dungeon keeps a vaulted room of ridges on the ground floor. The frames of the openings, made of andesite stone, and the remains of an ancient drawbridge (mentioned in 1680) testify to its defensive past. The castle originally belonged to the lords of Murat, whose coat of arms still adorns the entrance.

In the 17th century, the castle was enlarged in a classic rustic style, typical of local rural architecture, by the families of Chabannes (teachers of Nebouzat) and then the Roussel (teachers of the Batisse). A body of west houses, covered with hollow tiles, is built, accessible by an external staircase made of baluster stone. A stair turret serves the southern part. The outbuildings, including vaulted kitchens, pantry and kitchenware (restored at the end of the 20th century), complete the whole. The northern house, burned in 1945 after an occupation, only exists as remains.

In the 19th century, the Culhat de Chamond family, owner since 1797, added a two-storey eclectic forebody, with a flat tile roof. The leisure garden, replanted at that time, includes terraces, a beech grove, a basin fountain, and a symmetrical andesite staircase. The castle also maintains a direct connection to a private stand of the nearby church. The interior decorations of the 17th and 19th centuries (lounges, rooms, vestibule) and the park with its terraced gardens have been protected since 2000.

Successive owners included, in the 18th century, the Jouvenceau (linked to the Clermont-Ferrand mill), then the Rochette de Lempdes in the 20th century. The castle illustrates the architectural evolution of a medieval fortress in seigneurial residence, then in bourgeois residence, while preserving defensive elements such as the dungeon and traces of its occupation by the lords of Murat.

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