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Origin and history

The Château de Lacam, located in Massels, is a building rebuilt between 1682 and 1695 by Jean-Claude Coderc de Lacam, captain of chevau-légers, with the permission of his suzerain, the Baron of Frespech. This castle, built on a spur overlooking the Tancanne Creek, replaces an old strong house whose defensive elements (towers, gabions) were demolished to give way to a more modern construction. The main body, shaped like a U, is organized around a courtyard closed by outbuildings including a vaulted chapel, a cellar, a dovecote and stables.

The architecture of the castle reflects the construction techniques of the late seventeenth century. The central body rests on a vaulted basement floor, accessible by a masonry staircase, while the facades on the courtyard have redesigned cross-sections, with the exception of a six-day window preserved. The entrance door, framed with pilasters and surmounted by a pediment, is protected by a broken roof. The outbuildings, separated from the home, house utility elements such as a supply house, a henhouse and a central well covered with a pavilion. A subsequent work campaign, attested by engraved dates (1770, 1771, 1789), partially altered the buildings.

The castle preserves original elements, such as the fireplace of the large hall, where the equestrian portrait of Coderc de Lacam is exhibited. The archives reveal that Jean-François de Gourdon de Genouillac, Baron of Frespech, authorized in writing the reconstruction of the estate, including the right to raise towers, a chapel, and vaulted stables. A contract signed in 1682 with the master mason Anthoine Dumoulin specifies the construction modalities, while the date of 1679, engraved on the stables, suggests a start of work prior to the formal authorization. The chapel dates from 1744 according to some sources.

The estate of Lacam once extended to mills and a tilery, now missing or in ruins, as well as to a pool mentioned on the cadastre of 1830. The ensemble, inscribed in the Historical Monuments in 1998, illustrates the evolution of seigneurial residences in Aquitaine at the hinge of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, mixing residual defensive functions and aristocratic comfort. The accuracy of the archives and architectural traces makes it a rare witness to the constructive practices of the time.

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