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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of Romefort, located north of Saint-Georges-des-Coteaux in Charente-Maritime, was originally a vassal seigneury of the Barony of Saint-Sauvant, between Saintes and Cognac. From 1456, the Robert family owned it, with clear mentions such as that of Olivier Robert, squire and echevin of Saintes in 1492, or his son René, who paid homage to Romefort in the chapter of Saintes in 1521-1522. The seigneury, disputed by the heirs of Jean de Beaumont, remained with the Roberts until 1551, when it was sold to Louis de Cherbys.

In 1602, after an exchange with Arthus Lecomte, the king's powerful adviser, the estate returned to the king before being sold in 1621 to Jean Richard, bishop of Saintes. The castle then passes into the hands of Bordeaux families, such as Constantine or Verthamon, who make it a secondary residence. In the 19th century, it was acquired by Émile Rouyer, an engineer and anti-Semitic activist, before being bought in 2018 by the Communauté d'Agglomeration de Saintes, then by a private individual in 2022.

The architecture of the castle includes a 15th-century house body, covered with slates, and a flamboyant Gothic chapel on porch, classified in 2002. This porch, similar to that of the passage Saint-Gilles à Pons, illustrates medieval protective chapels. The house, registered since 1995, forms with the communes a courtyard typical of the seigneurial houses of the region. Today, the castle is not visiting.

Under the Ancien Régime, Romefort was a fief with rights of justice, evolving from middle and low justice (before 1729) to high justice afterwards. This status reflected its local importance, linked to influential families such as the Roberts, Lecomte or Constantine, often involved in judicial or municipal institutions in Saintes and Bordeaux. The Revolution did not affect the domain, which retained its architectural integrity.

The successive owners, often from the aristocracy or the bourgeoisie, used Romefort as a "house in the fields", far from their urban charges. In the 19th century, the engineer Émile Rouyer developed award-winning agricultural machines, while being illustrated by anti-Semitic positions. The recent acquisition by public and then private actors underlines its heritage anchor, despite its inaccessibility to the public.

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