Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Behericourt, built at the end of the 11th century by the bishop of Noyon, was originally composed of a square dungeon in pink brick and an adjoining house. Destroyed during the Hundred Years' War, then shaved in 1591 by Henry IV during the siege of Noyon against the Picardy League, it was bought in the 14th century by Jean le Mercier, lord of Nouvion and treasurer of the King's wars, to Jeanne de Thurotte, descendant of the local lords. Its ruins were rebuilt in the 17th and 19th centuries, marking its architectural and political evolution.

In the 15th century, the castle belonged to Louis de Couste, the page of Jeanne d'Arc, who attended his royal palace in Reims in 1429. His weapons, discovered in the masonry, testify to his connection to the place. In the 16th century, he passed to Jacques d'Humières, governor of Peronne, before being acquired in the 17th century by the Baron of Hautefort, who undertook important works, giving the south tower and the dungeon their present appearance. The last Baron of Hautefort, involved in the conspiracy of prisons, was guillotined in 1794, marking the end of this line.

In the 19th century, Radix de Sainte-Foix, Superintendent of Finance of the Earl of Artois, bought the castle as a national good at low prices. He partially demolished the house to sell the stones, reducing the estate to 147 hectares of vines. The present castle, heteroclite, preserves medieval elements (fortified gate, cellars, wall of enclosure) inscribed in historical monuments in 1986. Its architecture mixes sandstone, brick and stone, reflecting successive construction campaigns.

The site, organized in double enclosure (bass-court and high court), houses remains such as the common oven, the press room and a chapel that became a communal church. The high court, surrounded by fortifications, dominates the lower court, illustrating the feudal organization. The medieval cellars, vaulted in cradle, allow to partially restore the original castle plan, while the current facades combine sandstone, limestone and brick, with a flat and slate tile cover for the conical tower.

External links