Origin and history
The manor house of Épeisse, also known as the house-forte de Cogny, is a fourth quarter building of the 15th and 16th centuries, located in the Rhône department, in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Located on a hillside west of Cogny, it dominates the village and integrates into a former wine landscape. Its rectangular plan, embellished by a round tower to the northeast, makes it a modest example of a strong house, with a ground right-of-way of approximately 700 m2, including two courtyards and commons. The original house, limited to 200 m2, reflects a compact organization typical of local seigneurial residences.
The land of Epeisses is attested from 1286, linked to an eponymous seigneurial lineage present since the 12th century. Depending on the chestnut of Montmelas in Beaujolais, the seigneury passed to Chameyré in the 13th century, then to Namy in the 15th century, family of local notables. In 1693, Jeanne de la Forêt, widow of a bishop of Villefranche, acquired the estate, described as a house with cellar, pantry, barn and press, surrounded by vineyards. In the 18th century, the manor house, reduced to an agricultural dependence, housed winemakers before being bought in 1758 by François Morel, Lyon Councillor. During the Revolution, the seigneurial archives were burned in 1793, leaving only a 16th century burrow.
Partially classified in 1989 (façades, roofs, screw staircases and fireplaces), the mansion was fully protected in 2021, recognizing its coherent set, mixing houses, agricultural buildings and defensive elements. His history was documented in the 20th century by Louis-Joseph-Irénée Morel de Voleine, a local historian and last notable owner, who published in 1903 a study on fief in the Bulletin of the Société des Sciences et Arts du Beaujolais. The site, marked by family weapons (such as those of the Pélines on a chimney), bears witness to the transformation of a wine seigneury into a farm.
Architecturally, the mansion is distinguished by its round tower, its dovecote, and its spaces organized around a central courtyard. The changes over the centuries, such as the addition of rooms for winemakers or the transformation into a dependency, illustrate its adaptation to economic needs. The two fireplaces and screw staircase, protected since 1989, underline its residential and defensive character. Today, the Mansion d'Epeisse embodies a rural heritage of Beaujolais, where seigneurial history, viticulture and social evolution combine.
The estate, once integrated into a larger wine-growing fence, sees its center of gravity moving towards the Lucardière (rebuilt at the end of the seventeenth century), relegating Epistle to the role of farm. The 18th and 19th century inventories mention missing or transformed elements, such as the press, stables, or barn, reflecting intense agricultural activity. The Morel family, owner in the 18th and 19th centuries, also marked the history of the place, with François Morel of Rumion, arrested and then released during the Revolution. The 16th century terrier, the only document spared, offers an overview of seigneurial possessions.
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