Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Rouergoux mansion, located in Saint-Médard in the Lot (Occitanie), is an architectural testimony of the 17th and 18th centuries. It embodies the arrival of wheeled families after the Hundred Years War to repopulate the Quercy, with a tower and a house built in the 15th century. This site, owned by the Couderc family in the 17th and 18th centuries, reflects the evolution of a complete farm: the medieval tower was converted into a dovecote, while the house was enlarged by a perpendicular wing. The outbuildings (stables, barns, cuviers) were added between the 17th and 19th centuries, illustrating the adaptation of structures to local agricultural needs.

The particularity of the mansion lies in its structure barn laid on the ground, an architectural rarity in Querynoise. The site also preserves a bread oven and a stone cellar accessible by an empty hole, typical of the massages of the region. Hugues Couderc, qualified as a masatge labourer in the archives, and his son Géraud (died 1686) embody this line of owners: their alliances with practitioners (legals) and merchants underline the social ascent linked to the exploitation of the estate. Ranked a historic monument in 1987, the mansion combines medieval heritage and adaptations of modern times.

Together, including the traditional Quercynian house, the square dovecote with bolts, and agricultural buildings, offers an intact example of the rural life of the Ancien Régime. The archives mention a variety of activities (breeding, viticulture, crop storage), while the curved archetra frame of the barn reveals local craftsmanship. The Rouergoux Manor House, due to its state of conservation and its functional diversity, is a major milestone in the agricultural heritage of Lotois.

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