Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Favols, located in the town of Bias in Lot-et-Garonne, dates back to some sources in the 10th century. In 911, it is mentioned as having been looted by the Vikings when they climbed the Lot, along with the church of Casseneuil. His Latin name Favolibus, meaning "place of passage", suggests that it was probably a toll castle controlled by the Favols family, quoted in tributes to the Count of Toulouse in 1259. The current structure, a quadrilateral with four corner towers (three of which remain), dates from the late 13th or early 14th century.

Favols' family, weakened by the Hundred Years' War, abandoned the castle in 1430. He was then bought by the Durforts, then exchanged in 1456 with the lord of Montratier. In 1526, Bertrand de Gervain de Roquepiquet married Françoise de Montratier. The castle then passed to the Deshoms family (or Des Homs) in 1540, which kept it until 1835. During this period architectural changes were made, such as the opening of a moulure cross in the 16th century and the drilling of large bays in the 18th century.

The castle, relatively spared during the Revolution, was returned to the Deshoms in 1795. In 1835 Jean-Baptiste Deshoms, the last owner of the family, sold it to a merchant in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, who sold it in 1862. The castle is now protected as historical monuments, with a first inscription in 1981 for its inner courtyard, followed by a complete inscription in 2015. Its architecture reflects the successive transformations, from its medieval role of controlling the ford to its modern residential adaptations.

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