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Origin and history

Budos Castle, located in the Gironde department, was built in the early 14th century by Raymond Guilhem de Budos, nephew of Pope Clement V. The latter, thanks to his influential position, gave him the resources to build a fortress inspired by the nearby castle of Villandraut. A royal authorization by Edward II in 1308 allowed his fortification, including walls, towers, ditches and niches, to protect English possessions in Guyenne and Raymond Guilhem's subjects.

During the Hundred Years' War, the castle changed hands several times: occupied by the English in 1422-1423, granted to the Duke of Gloucester in 1433, then passed on to Gaston IV of Foix-Béarn in 1446 after the death of Gloucester. Budos' family, faithful to France, recovered their land after the Guyenne's reconquest. The monument was then sold in 1571 to Raymond de La Roque, whose descendants kept it until the Revolution.

During the French Revolution, the castle was sold as a national property and partially dismantled to serve as a stone quarry, especially to build dykes on the Ciron. In the 19th century, Léo Drouyn alarmed the authorities on its state of degradation, allowing its partial preservation. In 1860 he became the property of Léon de Brivazac, descendant of the La Roque. Today it is managed by the Adichats association, which works for its restoration and enhancement.

The architecture of the castle reflects its military and residential use. From a rectangular plane (46 m x 56 m), it is surrounded by four corner towers (three circulars and an octagonal used as a pigeonhole), as well as a square tower protecting the entrance, once crossed by a drawbridge. The ditches, 20 metres wide and 10 metres deep, were fed by a local source. The walls bear traces of modifications in the 16th and 18th centuries, as arches adapted for firearms.

Inside, the courtyard housed a chapel, a prison in the north tower, and a well. Latrines were integrated into the walls, and underground parts were used to store food or ammunition. The soil, now flattened by embankments, was originally sloped with several bearings. 300 metres to the west, a 17th-century cooler, in the shape of a "Chinese hat", bears witness to the surrounding agricultural developments.

Ranked a historic monument in 1988, Budos Castle illustrates the evolution of medieval fortresses in Aquitaine, between feudal conflicts, architectural adaptations and challenges of contemporary preservation.

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