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Origin and history

The house of Chalonne is a former seigneurial building located in the commune of Gond-Pontouvre in the Charente department. Located at the top of a hill overlooking the Charente, a few kilometers from Angoulême, it was accessible by the Vars road. This strategic site, mentioned in 1254, belonged to the lords of Chalonne, an influential family between the 13th and 16th centuries. Originally, the house had a defensive and economic vocation, providing flour and hemp to the Cistercian abbey of Grosbost.

In 1254 Seguin Cerdaing, owner of Chalonne, gave over the house of Obezin to the monks of Grosbost and paid tribute for the fief to the Count of Angoulême Hugues XII of Lusignan. This first document attests to the importance of housing in the local feudal network. In the 15th century, the seigneury passed into the hands of the Vigier family, then by marriage to Louis de Courbon in 1523. The successive architectural transformations, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries, gradually erase its military character, as evidenced by the disappearance of the mâchicoulis and dungeon, of which only one vaulted room remains.

The house changed ownership several times: the Arnaud family in 1639, then the Marquis de Touchimbert in the 18th century, including Auguste-François Prévost, seigneur of Londigny, in 1734. In the 20th century, the Pinaud family became its owner and, in 2018, its descendants transformed it into guest rooms. The south wing, redesigned, preserves traces of ogival doors, evoking an old seigneurial room. The site thus illustrates the evolution of noble houses, from medieval fortresses to pleasant residences, while remaining anchored in the Charente landscape.

Architecturally, Chalonne's home blends medieval elements, such as the flat foothills of the dungeon or the "sarrazine" chimney with truncated coat, with more recent additions. These remains, dated between the 12th and 13th centuries for the oldest parts, recall its initial role of territorial control and agricultural production. Subsequent changes, notably the openings of the 17th and 18th centuries, reflect the adaptation of the building to the lifestyles of modern times, while preserving its grip on the hillside overlooking the Charente.

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