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Origin and history

The castle of Sendat, located in the commune of La Réunion (Lot-et-Garonne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine), finds its origins in a strong house attested from the end of the eleventh century. The present building, built in the 13th century, was largely rebuilt in the 17th century before being profoundly transformed between 1851 and 1867 by architect Felix Duban for Baron Henri-Léon Edmond de Morin. The latter, heir to a Protestant lineage established in Guyenne since the 16th century, modernized the castle thanks to his wife's fortune, integrating neo-Gothic elements while preserving the medieval structure.

The estate was a historic place of passage: Poton de Xaintrailles and La Hire stopped there on the way to reach Jeanne d'Arc (1429), and Blaise de Monluc stayed there in 1561. Under the Old Regime, the Sendat was a cure for the diocese of Condom, including the annexes of Notre-Dame de Couthures and Saint-Martin de Miraunes. The Revolution abolished the local church in 1792, before it became a branch in 1803. The present territory of La Réunion includes the former parishes of Sendat, Couthures, Beyrac and Loupiac.

Three families marked the history of the castle: the Montlezun (until the 17th century), the Montesquiou (including Jean-Charles, condemned for the murder of a Protestant captain in 1622), and the Morin, who owned it from 1628 to 1923. François de Morin, governor of Albret, received the Duke of Bouillon and Turenne there in 1660. In the 19th century, Henri-Léon Edmond de Morin entrusted Félix Duban with an ambitious restoration: the elevation of the wings, the addition of mâchicoulis, the creation of a chapel and a library, and the redevelopment of interiors with Parisian craftsmen such as Debay or Fourdinois. The works, disturbed by the Louvre and the Galliera Hotel, were completed around 1867.

The castle, classified as a Historical Monument in 2003, preserves medieval remains (circular towers, inner courtyard) and 19th-century decorations. Its gardens, parks and hydraulic systems (including an underground aqueduct supplying a reservoir) were registered in 2016. After the sale by the Morin family in 1923, the estate passed into the hands of the Maubourguet-Lemoîne family, linked to the South West newspaper. Today it is privately owned and illustrates the architectural evolution of an aristocratic fortress, marked by religious conflicts and romantic transformations.

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