Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Chapdeuil, located in the Dordogne department in New Aquitaine, has its origins in the 12th century, of which today only the ground floor of the dungeon and the moats remain. This dungeon, probably built between the 14th and 16th centuries, was modified during the Wars of Religion by the Ponbriand family. To the west, an exterior staircase and a house, perhaps dating from the seventeenth century, complete the whole. The castle, partially demolished during the Revolution in 1793, saw its house restored in the nineteenth century, with traces of works dated 1811 on a frame piece.

The estate, accessible by a portal and a bridge crossing the moat, includes a massive circular dovecote and a dungeon flanked by mâchicoulis. The main house, in the south, incorporates a rectangular stone tower with remains of a 12th century Romanesque, illuminated by slender bays. The gothic fireplaces and the partially walled dust windows bear witness to successive changes. In the north, the most recent house, remodeled in the 19th century, preserves a triangular pediment dot.

Private property classified Historical monument since 29 February 1988, the castle also protects its moats, its access bridge and its pigeon house. Archaeological elements suggest a continuous occupation since the Middle Ages, marked by phases of construction and destruction related to conflicts (the Hundred Years War, the Revolution). The Saint Astiers and the Ponbriands, the local noble families, played a key role in its architectural evolution, combining defensive and residential functions.

The initial fortified assembly, belonging to the family of La Tour, has almost disappeared, with the exception of the moat fed by the Euche and the ground floor of the seigneurial. The modifications of the 17th century (exterior staircase, housework) and the restorations of the 19th century (eastern facade, framework) reflect the adaptations to residential needs and revolutionary damage. Today, the site illustrates the evolution of a medieval fortress in aristocratic residence, typical of the Périgord.

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