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Origin and history

The former castle of Drugy, now transformed into a farm, stands in the commune of Saint-Riquier, in the department of the Somme. Its origin dates back at least to the ninth century, when Drugy, a nearby hamlet, housed a seigneury dependent on the abbey of Saint-Riquier. A first castle was mentioned in 1217, but it was in 1272, under Gilles de Marchemont's abbatiate, that major fortification works were undertaken. Reparations continued in 1361 under Abbé Philippe du Fossé, before the site became a famous place of detention in 1430, when Joan of Arc was imprisoned there.

The Hundred Years War left the building in ruins, pushing Abbé Pierre Le Prestre to rebuild it between 1457 and 1465. However, in 1475 King Louis XI ordered the burning of the castle and the abbey of Saint-Riquier. Despite this destruction, the site remained occupied until its dismantling in 1709. In the 18th century, some of the buildings were renovated in a farm, preserving the polygonal plan of the former fortress. The barn, dated from 1766 by its anchoring irons, and the vaulted room known as "cachot de Joan d'Arc"—protected since 1943—are the last visible testimonies of this past.

Architecturally, the medieval castle consisted of a large tower and eight turrets. Today, there is only one vaulted hall and a third-point window in agricultural buildings. The hall where Joan d'Arc was detained, covered with flat tiles, remains a place full of history. The remains of the dungeon tower, classified as historical monuments, recall the strategic and symbolic importance of this site, linked to both local seigneury and national conflicts.

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