Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Saint-Brice, located on the right bank of the Charente 4 km from Cognac, finds its origins in the 14th century with Jehan de Lousme, the first owner known in 1363. This lord paid tribute to the Black Prince in 1365. The present building was mainly rebuilt in the sixteenth century by Charles Poussard du Fors, hosting in 1586 an interview between Catherine de Medici and Henri de Navarre, future Henri IV. The remains of the 14th century, like a tower and a wall with round path, still remain today.

In the 17th century, the castle was redesigned and its park built, including a maze of boxwood where the future Henry IV played. The owners were succeeded by the families of Ocoy, La Motte d'Ayran, Maulevrier (18th century), and the Nanots in the Revolution. Around 1875, the general of Brémond d'Ars undertook important restorations, with the intervention of architect Gentis for the apartments. The park, attributed to landscaper Édouard André, includes a terrace overlooking the Charente and a piece of water decorated with bronzes.

Partially classified as Historical Monuments in 1971 (facades, roofs, remains of the old castle and labyrinth), the estate has belonged to the Hennessy family since 1901. Although private property and not open to the public outside Heritage Days, it was a notable cinematographic setting: sentimental education (1962) and Benjamin or the Memoirs of a virgin (1967) were shot there. Its architecture is distinguished by a one-storey house framed with pepper turrets, a dardian roof with carved pediments, and plains in stone covered with hollow tiles.

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