Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Perricard, located in the commune of Montayral (Lot-et-Garonne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine), has its origins in the late 15th or early 16th century. The Raffin family, originally from Rouergue, is the first certified owner. Pierre de Raffin, seigneur circa 1400, passed the estate on to his descendants, including Armand I de Raffin, likely initiator of the construction. A missing inscription, dated 1565, attributed to Antoine de Raffin the completion of the works, including the large southwest tower and its carved decorations (ecotized sticks, roses, fleurs de lys), made by a cadurcian workshop.

Family conflicts mark the history of the castle. In 1600, Anne de Bezolles, widow of Jean de Raffin (killed in duel in 1598), obtained by judgment the property of the castle after a long legal battle against her parents-in-law. In 1609, the Raffins took violently, before being expelled by order of the Parliament of Bordeaux. Anne de Bezolles then modernized the castle, adding a chapel around 1610. The seigneury then passed into the hands of the families of La Goutte de La Pujade (who rose to the rank of marquisat in the seventeenth century) and Montalembert, before being sold in 1779 to François de La Fabrie de la Sylvestrie.

In the 19th century, the castle was divided into two agricultural properties: the east wing became a barn stable in 1861, while the west wing, partially ruined, was transformed into a farm. Despite these modifications, the south wing retains remarkable elements, such as monumental kitchen, painted ceiling rooms and carved fireplaces. The castle, representative of the Renaissance architecture of the Agen with its quadrangular plan and its towering angle, is listed in the inventory of historical monuments on February 22, 1927.

Archaeological sources are lacking to accurately trace the construction phases. However, the oldest southeast rectangular tower suggests a medieval origin, perhaps an anterior fortress. The successive transformations reflect the social and economic stakes of the region, from the seigneurial struggles of the Renaissance to the adaptation to agricultural needs under the Restoration. The castle remains a testimony of the heritage dynamics of the Haut-Agenais, linked to influential families such as the Raffin, the La Goutte or the Montalembert.

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