Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Frégimont is mentioned for the first time in 1271 in the seizure, act of taking possession of the king of France on the seigneuries of the Count of Toulouse after the death without heir of Alphonse de Poitiers and Jeanne de Toulouse. This document attests to the existence of a first medieval castle on the site, linked to the local seigneury.

In the 15th century, the seigneury of Frégimont passed into the hands of the Montpezat family when Amanieu de Montpezat took over in 1418. Two centuries later, at the end of the seventeenth century, it was acquired by the family of Lusignan. These changes of ownership reflect feudal dynamics and nobiliary alliances of the time in Aquitaine.

In 1769, the estate was purchased by Jean-Pierre Villate de Lagrave, a Bordeaux lawyer married to Louise de Secondat, granddaughter of Montesquieu. The castle, then in ruins, retains a tower used as a prison, as well as outbuildings (grange, stables, wells) surrounded by ditches. About 1775, Villate began the construction of the modern, classic-style house, after the destruction of the medieval remains, probably under the direction of an architect or engineer from Agen.

On 30 March 1846 Jean-François Louis Secondat de Montesquieu, descendant of the family, sold the castle to the commune of Frégimont. It then becomes the seat of the town hall and primary school, marking its anchor in local public life. A major restoration was carried out in 1898 by architect Léopold Payen, including the renovation of the ceilings, stairs and roof.

The castle was finally listed as a historic monument on September 23, 2008, recognizing its heritage value. Its history illustrates the architectural and social transformations, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era, as well as its central role in the Frigimont community.

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