Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Garde-Épée, located in Saint-Brice in Charente, was built in the 16th century on a plateau overlooking the Charente valley. In 1553, Sieur Ancelin, a merchant, acquired the fief of the Marquis de Caravaz (inspired by the Marquis de Carabas destales de Perrault) and obtained permission to erect a house with niches, including a monumental leak, a pool and a park. The round leak, dated 1553 and decorated with the arms of the Ancelin, has 2,600 bolts and symbolizes the prestige of this merchant family.

By the mid-17th century, when Jean Ancelin died without a direct heir, the estate was sold to a Mr. Richard, still owner in 1698. He then moved to the family of Jarnac de Garde-Épée, which kept him until today through a private company. The house, rebuilt at the end of the 18th century, is housed in a quadrilateral surrounded by agricultural buildings. The entrance, marked by a crenellated cochère door and a remaining turret, bears witness to the defensive adaptations added in 1562, like the nine mâchicoulis above the gate.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1973 for its crenelated wall, portal and escape, the castle remains a private property not open to the public. Its architecture combines Renaissance elements (leak, merlonated courtine) and subsequent transformations (logis 18th). The estate, now a vineyard, is inseparable from local history, linked to the nearby Châtre Abbey, also owned by the Jarnac family. The sources underline its role as seigneurial residence and then agricultural estate, reflecting the evolution of rural elites in Charente.

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