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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of La Chapelle Faucher was erected in the early 13th century by Helias Fulcherius de Chabans, lord of Agonac. Ravaged in 1369 by the Black Prince during the Hundred Years War, it was rebuilt from 1485, simultaneously at the Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assumption. This strategic site, perched on a cliff overlooking the Cole River, controlled the valley and the road between Brantôme and Thiviers.

In 1515, the castle entered the family of Chabans by the marriage of Marguerite de Farges with Charles de Chabans de Joumard. During the religious wars in 1569, he became the scene of a massacre: 260 Catholic peasants, refugees in his walls, were killed there by Huguenot troops commanded by Admiral de Coligny. This drama illustrates the sectarian violence that torn the Périgord.

In the 17th century, the Marquis de Chabans, faithful to the king, had to take over his castle by force in 1653 after his family, leaving the Fronde, had plundered it. He shaved the medieval fortifications (bridge-levis, enclosures) and set up an entrance castle, marking the transition to a less defensive residence. In the 18th century, a house was added to the existing towers.

The last heiress of the Chabans, Marie-Eugénie (1845–?), married the Earl of Bruc de Livernières and adopted his nephew Alain de Bruc, to whom she bequeathed the castle. In 1916, a fire caused by lightning destroyed the roofs, never rebuilt. Since 2001, the site has been protected: the two round towers and the medieval house body are classified, while the rest (castle, outbuildings, dovecote) is listed.

Architecturally, the castle blends 13th century defensive elements (round towers), a 15th century Renaissance home, and additions from the 17th to 18th centuries. Its dovecote, located beyond the departmental road, bears witness to its former seigneurial estate. The terraces built in the 17th century still offer a breathtaking view of the valley, recalling its historic role of monitoring and local power.

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