Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Château de Montlebeau, also known as Manoir de Montlebeau, is located in the commune of Vareilles, in the department of Creuse (Nouvelle-Aquitaine). This feudal monument, first mentioned in 1497, belonged to a Sieur de la Marche and constituted a vassal fief of the Viscounty of Bridiers. Its home, built in the second half of the 15th century, reflects a period of strengthening French positions against English threats in Guyenne, in the context of the end of the Hundred Years War.

In 1526, a document (confessed) describes the mansion as surrounded by a wall, with a courtyard, a chapel (already in ruins in the seventeenth century), an oven and outbuildings. A 1623 confession indicates the addition of a circular dovecote covered with flat tiles, while a third admission (1674) mentions a mâchicolis portal, probably original. The manor house, uninhabited since the Revolution, was partially restored in the 19th century by Hippolyte Sigaud, who set up a hunting appointment there, then abandoned before being saved by a local association in the 1990s.

The architecture of the castle, typical of the walking manors, includes two round towers, a tower of stairs in screws, and a plan divided into two rooms per level. Although the floors have disappeared, the 15th century chimneys, decorated with capitals, remain. Ranked a historic monument in 2003, the site benefited from partial restorations in the 2010s, especially for the North Tower. Today, it remains closed to the public for security reasons, but its walls, largely intact, testify to its historic importance in the northwest of Creuse.

External links