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Origin and history

The castle of Besse, located in the Black Perigord (Dordogne), replaces a first medieval castle destroyed during the Hundred Years War. It was erected before 1560 by Gabriel de Gauléjac, lord of Besse and knight of the Order of the King, on a plateau overlooking the village. Partly financed by his wife's dowry, Gabrielle de Vabres (£3,000), the site mobilizes local resources, as evidenced by the order for wood for chimneys in 1563. As early as 1564, the castle was operational for its defence, and a contract was signed there in 1571, suggesting its occupation by the seigneurial family.

The work was disrupted by the Wars of Religion: the castle was damaged by the Huguenots, and the construction sites were interrupted between 1580 and 1587, when garrisons were stationed there. On the death of Gabriel de Gauléjac in 1588, his son Jean-Marc de Gauléjac resumed work with a dowry of 14,000 pounds (1600). Defensive elements, such as the entrance pavilion and round towers, were completed before 1616 under the direction of the mason Jean de Saint-Avit. Four separate construction campaigns were identified by historian Gilles Séraphin.

In the 17th century, the castle passed to the Clermont-Toucheboeuf family through the marriage of Jeanne Marqueze de Gauléjac with Jacques-Victor de Touchebeuf (1648). New owners undertake restorations under Louis XV. An estate dispute broke out at the end of the 17th century: François III de Touchebeuf obtained the seigneury of Besse in 1699 after a trial against Anne de Touchebeuf, Countess of Boissières. The building, characterized by a west house surrounded by pavilions and a square courtyard protected by a drawbridge, was listed as historical monuments in 2012.

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