Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The estate of the Tower, located in Saint-Chaptes (Gard), has its origins in the 13th century with the construction of a Templar Commandery in 1212. The Templars erected a fortified tower, still visible today, dominating the estate. This site, named Villa Sancta Agatha in Latin times, was strategic, located near Gardon. The command office, called La Tour de Gastigne, was confiscated in 1307 during the arrest of the Templars in France, then offered by Philippe le Bel to Guillaume de Nogaret as a reward for his services.

The current domain is the result of three major architectural phases. The medieval castle, with its 13th century dungeon, coexisted with the new castle, built in 1796 by architect Meunier. Around 1865, the owner appealed to Revoil to complete and enlarge the latter, adding two galleries and remodeling the dungeon in a chapel. The park, marked by an axis of century-old plane trees and a grove, completes this set classified historic monument in 2011, including the two castles and the garden.

The present structure thus reflects a superposition of epochs: the medieval Templar heritage, the post-revolutionary transformations (1796), and the beautifications of the Second Empire (circa 1865). The architects Meunier and Revoil successively shaped this domain, combining medieval defense, noble residence and landscaped park, testifying to its social and functional evolution over more than six centuries.

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