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Key figures

Origin and history

The Château du Douhet, mentioned in 1250, was acquired in 1521 by Briand de Vallée, adviser to the Parliament of Bordeaux. A secondary residence of his family, he became a Protestant fief during the Wars of Religion under Nicolas de Vallée, and was managed by influential women such as Claude de Vallée and Judith de La Rochefoucauld. The latter ensured its survival despite the religious persecutions of the seventeenth century, including the internment of Renaud de Pons and Judith in 1688.

In 1652, a fire ravaged the castle, resulting in a reconstruction completed in 1678. The estate passed into the hands of several heirs, including the descendants of Charles Poussard, before being sold in 1769 to Abbé Pierre-Léonard de Laage, last seigneur. Confiscated during the Revolution, it was bought in 1800 by banker Mathieu Faure. In the 20th century, industrialist Jean-François Parfait Damilleville saved him from ruin after 1946, before it was transformed into a condominium in 2009.

Today's architecture, marked by a U-house and 17th-century outbuildings, preserves medieval elements such as vaulted cellars and a cooler. The gardens, fed by a Gallo-Roman aqueduct, as well as the dovecote of the sixteenth century (1,916 bolts), have been classified as historical monuments since 1969. Excavations in 2023 revealed structures mentioned in inventories of 1658, confirming the continuity of the building since the Middle Ages.

The castle illustrates the architectural transitions between the 17th and 18th centuries, with bays with segmental arches and a double-revolution staircase. Its history also reflects the religious and political upheavals of France, from the wars of Religion to the Revolution, to the emigration of Protestants under Louis XIV.

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