Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

In the early 13th century, when Guillaume de Cardaillac, bishop of Cahors, offered the land of Canourgues in 1214 to Bertrand de Jean, a merchant enriched by commerce and banking. This donation, linked to the Albigois Crusade, marks the beginning of the Junies seigneury, whose name evolves from Joanies. The family of John, integrated into the local nobility thanks to its fortune, developed the estate until its partial destruction in 1368, during the Hundred Years War, after having supported the English party.

In the 15th century, the seigneury passed into the hands of the Morlhon family, including Antoine de Morlhon, attorney general of the Toulouse parliament, contributing to the reconstruction of the castle around 1500. The decorations of the windows, similar to those of Cahors, suggest this period of renovation. The castle then changed owners, notably through the marriage of Jeanne de Morlhon with Guillaume de Roderel, then its sale in 1526 to Jehan du Pré, poet and companion of arms of François I. The latter adds features such as sled windows.

The family of Touchebouf-Beaumont acquired the seigneury in 1608 and preserved it until the Revolution. Despite an order of destruction in 1793 (unexecuted), Marguerite de Touchebœuf-Beaumont bought the castle in 1794. After centuries of decline, it was restored in 1921 by the Barberet family and listed as a historical monument in 1925. Its current architecture, marked by round towers and Renaissance elements, reflects these multiple transformations.

The castle illustrates the struggles of local power, between fidelity to the king of France and English alliances, as well as the social ascent of merchant families. The gypsies and woodwork of the eighteenth century, attributed to Jean-François de Touchebouf-Beaumont, testify to his aristocratic apogee before the Revolution. The archives burned in 1793, however, limited the precise knowledge of certain periods.

Today, the Junies Castle remains a remarkable example of the architectural and social evolution of Quercy, from the Middle Ages to the modern era, with visible traces of successive reconstructions and varied stylistic influences.

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