Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Serres has its origins in the agricultural land of the Cistercian Abbey of Notre-Dame de Candeil, founded in the 12th century. As early as 1188, texts mentioned land belonging to the abbey on a nearby hill, where agricultural buildings were allowed in 1263. A large tower, serving as a tithe barn and watchtower, is built to store crops and protect reserves from peasant revolts. The temporal power of the abbots prompted them to transform these buildings into a strong house, reinforced by a second tower and a 14th century bastion, in a context marked by the ravages of the large companies during the Hundred Years War.

In the 15th century, the castle became a secondary residence for abbots, but this role lasted only a century. During the Wars of Religion, although the neighbouring village of Labessière was taken by Protestants, the castle remained inviolated. Abbé Guillaume de Boisset, in the 16th century, was enriched with door windows, chimneys and enlargements, making them the main residence of the abbots. However, as early as the 17th century, it lost its importance and became a farm again. In 1731, a trial revealed his state of disrepair, resulting in risk reduction work: one tower was shortened, another demolished, and the moat was filled.

In the Revolution, the castle was sold as a national good and transformed into a farm in the 19th century. Major changes are made during this period. Later, it was bought by private owners who undertook to restore its historical aspect. Today, two towers remain, one of which houses a chapel decorated with murals classified as historical monuments. The vaulted cellars, cannons and traces of murderers recall its defensive and agricultural past. The site, registered and classified since 1980, reflects the evolution of an abbey estate as a seigneurial residence and then in rural operation.

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