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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Hôtel de Cours de Thomazeau is a mansion built in Castillonnès (Lot-et-Garonne) in the second half of the 18th century, around 1770-1775. It was commissioned by François de Cours de Thomazeau, from an aristocratic family enriched by trade with the West Indies, including the cultivation and trading of sugar cane in Martinique. The building, designed on the ruins of a medieval castle from which underground rooms remain, reflects the cosmopolitan tastes of a small provincial nobility under the Lights, without trace of feudality.

The plans of the hotel are attributed to architect Victor Louis. The building consists of a house body and two wings of commons in return for square, framing a courtyard closed by a wrought iron gate. In December 2014, an accidental discovery took place during works: a silk purse hidden in a wall, containing forty-five gold coins, including some Spanish from Philip II and Henry IV. This find illustrates the wealth circulating in these homes.

Partially classified as historical monuments since 23 August 1996, the hotel protects two indoor lounges and its main staircase, while its stone façade, eroded by time, awaits a restoration. The underground rooms, including a basin fed by a permanent source, were fitted out. The building thus symbolizes the alliance between medieval heritage and architectural ambition of the Enlightenment, carried by an economic elite linked to the colonies.

The family of Cours de Thomazeau embodies this nobility of dress or trade, typical of the eighteenth century, whose fortune allowed the acquisition of land and the construction of prestigious residences. The hotel, through its history and its protected elements, offers a tangible testimony of transatlantic exchanges and their impact on local heritage.

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