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Origin and history

The Logis de Barroux is a mansion located in the hamlet of Barroux, on the associated municipality of Soulièvres in Airvault (Deux-Sèvres). This estate consists of a main house, a chapel, a dovecote and outbuildings arranged around a square inner courtyard. Its architecture, marked by scalables at the corners and a typical staircase from the late 16th and early 17th centuries, reflects a feudal spirit still present at that time. The manor, built in small squared bellows with cut stone frames, has undergone reshaping, including a reduction in the height of its roof.

Originally, Barroux's seigneury came under Thouars in the Middle Ages. The house was enlarged in the 17th century and decorated with murals, especially in the mural of the chimneys and in the chapel choir. The latter preserves a painted decor, including a starry vault and a stone table decorated with floral bouquets in trompe-l'oeil. The commons, mostly dating from the seventeenth century, retained their original appearance, with the exception of part of the south wing, probably rebuilt in the nineteenth century.

The mansion has changed hands several times over the centuries. At the beginning of the 17th century, it belonged to the Boinard family, then passed by marriage to the family of Rangot in 1634, when Jeanne Boinard married Gabriel de Rangot. The estate remained in this family until the French Revolution, when it was confiscated and sold as a national property. It was then bought by Miss de Rangot, before passing into the hands of the Mausabré family, which kept it until the middle of the 20th century. Barroux's house has been listed as historic monuments since 5 December 1984, protecting its facades, roofs, and associated elements.

Access to the courtyard is via a double gate, including a cochère part and a pedestrian part. Among the remarkable elements are the Pigeon Tower, the only survivor of the corner towers that once surrounded the enclosure. Inside, the staircase on a right flight, typical of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, as well as the murals preserved in the fireplace and chapel, testify to the architectural and decorative refinement of the period. These elements, combined with the general disposition of the estate, make it a representative example of the seigneurial houses of the region.

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