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Origin and history

The house of Forge, located in Mouthiers-sur-Boëme in Charente, is a former building of the 15th and 16th centuries, built near a resurgence exploited from the Middle Ages. Its name, linked to metallurgical activity, evokes its initial role as an iron mill, then wheat and nut oil until the eighteenth century. The site, protected by ditches and a double enclosure, has architectural similarities with the Château de la Foy, such as square turrets and a terrace overlooking the Boëme valley.

In 1233, the cartular of the Abbey of La Couronne mentions Alain de Forge, followed in the 14th century by the Hugues and Chéraud de Chandry lords. In the 15th century, the house depended on La Rochandry's chestnutry and was built during the Hundred Years' War. In 1711, the "measuring of Forge" belonged to François Gaston Houlier, seigneur of Plassac, before being acquired in 1781 by Bernard Sazerac, a tailor and master of forges, who installed a paper mill there, a flourishing activity in Angoumois.

In the 19th century, the estate extended with buildings dedicated to the drying of paper and the housing of workers. The Sazerac family, now Sazerac de Forge, kept the house until 1969, when Geneviève Sazerac, the last heiress, died. Then transmitted to the Beaucé family, the site was restored in the 1930s and ranked in 1943. In 1941, the film Pontcarral was shot there. The facades and roofs were listed in the Historic Monuments in 2005, while the gardens, fed by the resurgence, obtained the label "Remarkable Garden".

The architecture of the house combines defensive elements (fossed, square towers with pyramidal roofs) and Renaissance decorations, such as a skylight adorned with a scallop shell or animal sculptures (monkey, eagle, elephant). Inside, a monumental 15th century fireplace and a vaulted room communicating with undergrounds testify to its medieval past. Although the house is private and non-visitable, its gardens open to the public in summer, offering a preserved setting between historical heritage and nature.

The estate illustrates the evolution of a seigneurial site towards industrial exploitation, marking the economic history of the Charente. Its name, spelled "la Forge" or "Forges" according to the times, reflects this duality between feudal heritage and adaptation to pre-industrial activities, such as stationery that used the hydraulic strength of the resurgence until the 19th century.

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