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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame du Grand-Castel was built in 1246 simultaneously at the foundation of the bastide of Grande Castrum (now Puymirol) by Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse. The latter obtained from Pope Innocent IV, by a bubble dated 24 April 1247, the right to present the parish priest. The bastide, erected in a territory described as desert and wooded (desertum, nemorosum), aimed to strengthen the defensive network of the Agenese, then disputed between the local lords and the bishopric of Agen. In fact, an initial conflict between Bishop Pierre de Reims and Raymond VII was resolved by a transaction of 500 pounds.

In 1283, Edward I of England — then a suzerain of the Ages — authorized the construction of ramparts and gates to protect the city, partially financed by the community. The Charter of Customs, granted in 1286, consolidated its administrative status. The church, damaged during the Hundred Years' Wars and religious conflicts, retained only its bell tower and portal at the end of the 16th century. Its restoration took place at the beginning of the seventeenth century, under the impetus of Nicolas de Villars, bishop of Agen, who restored the Catholic cult there in 1600 after 22 years of interruption.

Ranked a historic monument in 2003, the church also underwent an interior redevelopment of its nave in the 1950s. Its architecture thus combines medieval elements (gate, bell tower) with modern additions, testifying to its turbulent history. Puymirol's bastide, on the other hand, was one of the 12 bailliages of the Agenese as early as 1257, highlighting its strategic importance in the region.

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