Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Puymarteau is a perigordin mansion built in the second half of the sixteenth century, completed in 1565 by the Chevalier family, lords of the place since at least 1463. Situated on a hillside overlooking the Dronne Valley in Brantôme, it features a typical architecture of the noble houses of the region, with a house body flanked by a polygonal staircase tower with a dogive vault and two corbelled turrets. The terrace on the east side, added in the seventeenth century, and the armored dovecote complete this defensive and residential complex.

The Chevalier family, the first certified owner, gave the estate in 1599 to the Saunier family by the marriage of Marie-Honorette Chevalier with Antoine Saunier. In the 17th century, the mansion passed into the hands of the Chevalier de Cablanc and the Saunier, during which time the terrace and the dovecote were laid out. In the 18th century, the Magnac and the Chalup became lords of Puymarteau, before the castle was seized during the Revolution. In the 19th century, it belonged to the Bussières and served as a winery under the name "Château Puymarteau", before being partially damaged by a fire in 1931.

Ranked a historic monument in 1981 for its facades, roofs, staircase and dovecote, the castle has undergone a recent renovation. In 2024, after fifteen months of work, its barns house a wellness centre with balneotherapy and massages. A restoration of the roof of the stair tower, destroyed in 1931, is planned for 2025. The site thus combines architectural heritage and contemporary use, while preserving the traces of its medieval and modern history.

Architecturally, the manor is distinguished by its eight vaulted staircase, topped by an old defence chamber accessible by a turret. The eastern skylight, decorated with a shelled pediment, recalls the Renaissance influences visible in the region, as at the castle of the Hierce in Brantôme. The guns beneath the windows and the almost blind gables bear witness to defensive concerns, although the site was primarily used as a noble residence. The gated courtyard, initially bounded by commons and a wall pierced by a cartretier gate, illustrates the spatial organization of the perigordin manors.

Historical sources mention several key actors, including Jean Chevalier, Damoiseau de Puymarteau in 1463, and Étienne Chevalier, seigneur in the mid-16th century. The transmission of the estate by marriage alliances (Chevalier-Saunier, Saunier-Magnac) reflects the nobiliary practices of the Ancien Régime. In the 19th century, the wine orientation of the estate, under the Bussières, was part of the local economy before the phylloxera crisis. The inscription to the historical monuments in 1981 allowed to preserve remarkable elements, such as the balustrade of the terrace or the sills of the windows.

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