Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The estate of the Tower of Rance, located in Bourran en Lot-et-Garonne, was originally a property dependent on the time of the Abbey of Clairac. He was alienated in 1574 by Henri d'Angoulême, a trading abbot, and acquired by Guillaume de Ranse, shield and secretary of Henri de Navarre, future Henri IV. Guillaume de Ranse, seigneur of Plaisance, also served as adviser to the king, general controller of the domains of Navarre and Albret, and auditor in the Chamber of Accounts of Nerac. This character marked the history of the estate by transforming it into a seigneurial residence.

In 1660, the estate passed into the hands of the family of Gripières, which kept it until 1830. It was probably under their aegis in the 17th century that the house was rebuilt. The latter is distinguished by a central pavilion body with a two-flyed ramp staircase, with a remarkable striped frame with curved pods. The dovecote, contemporary of this reconstruction, shares the same architectural characteristics, including a similar structure and a hexagonal plan based on six columns. These elements reflect the symbolic and practical importance of pigeons in the seigneurial domains of the time.

The dovecote, listed as historic monuments in 1993, is distinguished by its brick and coated structure, its polygonal roof covered with hollow tiles, and its "capels" protecting the openings. The house, on the other hand, underwent internal changes in the 19th and 20th centuries, while agricultural dependencies were changed after the acquisition of the estate by INRA in 1945. These transformations illustrate the evolution of the uses of this site, from an aristocratic residence to a modern agricultural domain.

The architecture of the estate, including the stairway of the house and the frame of the dovecote, bears witness to the know-how of modern times. The materials used, such as brick and coated bellows, as well as hollow tiles, are characteristic of the rural and seigneurial constructions of southwestern France in the 17th and 18th centuries. The estate thus embodies both the medieval heritage linked to Clairac Abbey and the architectural evolutions of modern times, marked by the influence of local noble families.

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