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Origin and history

The dungeon of Fauguerolles stands on the ancient Roman road between Agen, Eysses and Périgueux, in the department of Lot-et-Garonne. Built in the late 13th or early 14th century, it belonged to a fief's coseigneur family, mentioned as early as 1259 when the brothers Arnaud and Gaufred paid tribute to the castrum of Falgairolas. This site, initially a fortified village, was confiscated by the King of England shortly after, then ceded to Guillaume Montravel. The tower, isolated from the original castrum, was later modified to become habitable, perhaps under Jean de Monfabes (1376) or Bertrand de Fauguerolles.

The seigneury of Fauguerolles was divided among many coseigneurs families, including the Durforts, Montpezat-Laughnac, Sarrau-d-Arasse, and many others. After 1592, much of the enclosures and related buildings disappeared, leaving only the tower in the 18th century. In 1715, a repair estimate revealed the absence of floors and a roof with a pavilion, as well as a chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame, which had now disappeared. The tower, owned by the Galibert family in the 19th century, was listed as a historic monument in 1950 and awarded by the Association Vieilles Maisons Françaises in 1989.

Architecturally, the dungeon is a three-storey quadrangular tower with thick walls of 1.20 m, with corner foothills and a broken hanger door. A groaned window, redone in the 15th century, and traces of a breech (visible crows) testify to its transformations. Originally connected to other buildings, the tower probably housed an underground access or cellar, suggested by a square sigh. The courtines and other towers have now disappeared, leaving only this emblematic vestige of the Genoese feudal history.

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