Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Theobon, built in the 14th century as a fortress, was profoundly renovated in the 16th and 17th centuries to become a residential home. Located on a pech (colline) in Loubès-Bernac (Lot-et-Garonne), it offered panoramic views and natural defences. The first written traces date from 1327, when Gaubert de Mayrac declared himself lord. The seigneury then passed to the Ségur and Pierre-Buffière families by alliances, before being acquired in the 16th century by the Rocheforts de Saint-Angel, a Protestant line engaged in the wars of Religion.

In the 16th century, Jean I de Rochefort, Baron of Theobon and Captal of Puychagut, illustrated the Protestant military commitment of the family. Protestant convinced, he fought alongside the Huguenots, notably in Castillon (1586) and Burgundy under the Marshal of Biron (1595). His son, Charles II, Marquis de Théobon, played a key role during the Fronde in Guyenne, oscillating between rebellion and submission to the crown. The castle, transformed into an aristocratic residence in the 17th century, then houses a Protestant cult until its prohibition in 1684, reflecting the religious tensions of the time.

The Rochefort family also marks the history of the castle by its links with the royal court. Lydia of Rochefort-Theobon, daughter of John II, became bridesmaid of honour of Queen Marie-Thérèse of Austria before becoming the mistress of Louis XIV (1670–1672, 1676). His conversion to Catholicism in 1685, under pressure from the revocation of the edict of Nantes, symbolized the religious upheavals of the reign. The castle then passed to the Talleyrand-Périgord by marriage in 1725, before being sold in 1783 to Captain Brie de Teysson.

The French Revolution led to major deteriorations: towers were razed, metals requisitioned, and parts abandoned in the 19th and 20th centuries. A remarkable fireplace, sold in 1924, now adorns a salon at Harvard University. Ranked a historic monument in 1962, the castle retains notable architectural elements, such as a 17th century wrought iron staircase, painted ceilings (mythologies of Icare and Phaeton), and 18th century woodwork. Its organization around a rectangular courtyard, with housing bodies and square wings, bears witness to its successive transformations.

The story of Theobon reflects the political and religious changes of modern France. Initially medieval fortress, it became a place of Protestant power under the Rocheforts, then a symbol of noble alliances with the crown. The architectural changes (bridge-levis replaced by a stone bridge, blocked windows, unfinished gallery) and revolutionary vicissitudes make this a complex testimony of the eras traversed. Today, its inscription in historical monuments preserves this heritage linked to the Agenas and New Aquitaine.

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