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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Brandon Tower, located 5 km southwest of Athée-sur-Cher (Indre-et-Loire), is the only vestige of a medieval fortress built in the 12th century. It occupied the centre of a 5,000 m2 fortified enclosure, surrounded by today's filled moat and an extinct wall, except for a few segments embedded in modern dwellings. The original access was probably through a network of underground galleries, now walled. The tower, 19 m high and 12.60 m in diameter, is constructed of millstones attached to the mortar. Its current floors and its door are not contemporary to its construction.

The exact origin of the tower remains uncertain. Although flints of Paleolithic and Roman coins (Antonin le Pieux, Marc Aurèle, Commode) were discovered nearby, there is no evidence to confirm its connection with an ancient mansio. An abandoned hypothesis suggested a construction by Foulques Nerra to control the Touraine, but the dating of the 12th century invalidated this theory. The fortress, attached to the Montbazon castle, was partially destroyed before 1583, perhaps during an English attack that damaged its crenelated crown.

The Brandon Tower, which has been a historic monument since 16 December 1936, could have served as an observation or refuelling post. A local tradition evokes an underground gallery linking it to Esvres (7 km), but this one has never been confirmed. The excavations did not reveal any elements on the demolition of the other buildings of the fortress. Today, only the cylindrical tower remains, traces of moat and fragments of walls, silent witnesses of its strategic past in Touraine.

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