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Origin and history

Monteton Castle, located in the Lot-et-Garonne department, was built in the 17th century on the bases of a Romanesque building. It belonged to the seigneury of Monteton, passed in 1623 to the Digeon family (or Dijon) by the marriage of Jeanne de Béraud with Charles de Digeon, Sieur de Peyrières. This Protestant line, converted in appearance after the revocation of the edict of Nantes (1685), marked the architecture of the castle with defensive elements such as an arrowed drawbridge, reflecting the religious tensions of the time.

At the beginning of the 18th century, a member of the Digeon de Monteton family transformed the castle to bring it more in line with the comfort standards of the time. The family, divided between a branch in France and another exile in Prussia (now Digeon von Monteton), retained the estate until 1835. The castle, with a U-shaped plan with a central body and two wings, included commons and a fortified enclosure. Its abandonment in the 20th century led to its partial degradation, before a restoration and its conversion into an inn.

The monument was listed in the Inventory of Historic Monuments on February 8, 2008 for its home, inner courtyard, commons, and enclosure. His story is linked to figures such as Jean-Jacques Digeon de Monteton, married to Suzanne de Narbonne-Pelet, whose son Philippe, Colonel and then Member of Parliament for Lot-et-Garonne (from 1815) marked local history. The castle thus illustrates the survival strategies of Protestant families under the Old Regime, between forced conversion and exile.

The architecture of the castle, with its traces of drawbridge and its murderers, bears witness to the duality between Catholic appearance and persistent Protestant practice after 1685. The seizure of the property of certain members of the family, such as those of Anne de Briquemaut (widow of Pierre de Digeon) or Henry Digeon de Boisverdun, reflects the consequences of exile. After 1835, the castle changed hands, passing to Léopold de Gervain, who restored the castle of Lasserre but left Monteton abandoned.

Today, Monteton Castle, partially restored, houses a hostel. Its inscription as Historic Monument protects its emblematic elements, including the dry ditch, the access ramp, and the facades of the communes. Historical sources, such as Jules de Bourrousse de Laffore or Lucile Bourrachot's work, underline its importance in understanding the Protestant nobility of the Agenas and its European networks.

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