Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The château de Londigny, also known as château du Peu, is located in the commune of Londigny, in the Charente department, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Initially a 15th-century gentilhommière belonging to Jean Jousserand, squire and seigneur of Lairé in Poitou, the estate became over the centuries a major fief dependent on the chestnutry of Ruffec. Its strategic location, on a hill overlooking the Peruse valley 1 km south of the village, makes it a remarkable site in the north of the Charente.

In the 17th century, the castle passed into the hands of the Prévost family of Touchimbert, notably Casimir Prévost, knight and lord of Londigny, then to his descendants. In 1786 Auguste François Prévost Sansac, Marquis de Touchimbert, died there, leaving the estate to his widow, Charlotte de Chapt de Rastignac. The property remained in this line until the 19th century, when major works radically transformed its appearance.

Between 1870 and 1906, the Marquis de Lameth, the husband of a descendant of the Prevost of Touchimbert, financed ambitious expansions thanks to the sale of a rum distillery in Martinique. Léopold Auguste Prévost Sansac, the last Marquis de Touchimbert, and his son-in-law Joseph de Lameth (future Marquis de Bussy) give the castle its present appearance, mixing neogothic, Baroque and Renaissance, inspired by Viollet-le-Duc. A chapel, a preserved medieval tower, and a landscaped park of 15 hectares, adorned with sculptures and a monument dedicated to Joan of Arc, complete the ensemble.

The castle changed hands in 2011, managed until 2024 by Château des Chevaliers de Londigny, before being acquired by an Australian couple. During the Second World War, its display guns, visible from the slots, attracted the attention of German soldiers, fearing functional artillery pieces. Today, the site bears witness to this eclectic history, between medieval heritage and 19th century transformations.

The architecture of the castle is distinguished by its third-point roofed house body, flanked by round and square towers, and a north-east facade overlooking the valley. Inside the park, an equestrian statue of Casimir Prévost of Touchimbert (1912) and concrete sculptures recall the ex-owners' delight. The monument to Joan of Arc, erected in memory of the two daughters of the Marquis de Lameth, adds a symbolic dimension to this Charentais heritage.

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