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Origin and history

The Puy Castle, built in the 18th century in Tercillat (Creuse), is built with the rubble of the ancient feudal castle of the commune, itself former Templar Commandery destroyed during the Revolution. This medieval site, mentioned in 1237 under the name of the Podio in Latin archives, was an issue of trial between local lords like P. de Mornac. Passed into the hands of noble families (Brosse, Noblet, Vauhousade), he was reunited at the seigneury of Tercillat before being sold in 1750 to Claude-Bertrand de Beaumont, seigneur of the place.

The present home, in a hobereau style with its 18th century cochère doors and parquet floors, incorporates medieval architectural elements: carved temple heads, staircases and fireplaces recovered from the feudal castle, as well as a medieval dovecote. In 1733, Marie-Agnès de Noblet, widow of Sylvain de Durat, paid tribute to this, describing a "seigneurial house in two houses" with a gate and a dovecote. The estate, including forests, ponds and a medieval farm, was acquired in 1976 by Charles Rousseaux, then restored by the descendants of the Countess of Mausson de Candé.

Since 1989, the castle has been open to the school public and houses a collection of 3,000 costumes, labeled by the Heritage Foundation. Its outbuildings (farmyard, deer park, bread oven) and its history of templars and local nobility make it a lively cultural site, especially during Heritage Days. The castle, considered unfinished in 1894, also preserves a revolutionary clock and vaulted cellars, testimonies of its multifaceted past.

The archives reveal that the fief du Puy, formerly linked to the Abbey of Deols and the lords of Sainte-Severe, became a Creusian after the Revolution. A detailed admission of 1736 describes the estate as a seigneurial ensemble with dovecote, while Templar stones (including an engraved cross) were reused in the current construction. The site, classified for its material and intangible heritage, illustrates the evolution of a medieval seigneury in aristocratic residence of the Enlightenment.

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