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Origin and history

The Priory of Sainte-Croix-de-Beaumont is a medieval mansion located in Sainte-Croix, Dordogne, built in the early 14th century. This unfortified civilian building is distinguished by its original architecture for the period, marked by stylized bays and an internal division of spaces, characteristic of Bordeaux manor houses and gascons around 1300. It was erected near the Church of St. Croix, the first mention of which dates back to 1289, and which was attached to the lie of the Priory of Saint-Avit-Seneur in 1312.

The construction of this house is attributed to Gausbert de Castelnau, Prior of Saint-Avit-Seneur from 1303 to 1323, close to Pope Clement V. He entrusted him with missions in Périgord, and it was under his priorate that the church of Sainte-Croix was united with that of Saint-Avit-Seneur. The house, without defensive devices, reflects a period of relative peace between the end of the Guyenne War (1293-1303) and the beginning of the tensions of the Hundred Years War (from 1324).

The building presents itself as a high house surrounded by appendices, with a trilobed window and a basket handle door retouched in the 16th century. Its absence of fortifications suggests a residential rather than military vocation, typical of rural manor houses built during political lulls. After the death of Gausbert de Castelnau in 1323, the house did not seem to have been altered by his successor, Guillaume de Frézapa, who lived in the area only a short time.

Classified as a historic monument in 1997, this house is considered an important milestone in medieval civil architecture in Aquitaine. It bears witness to the architectural evolutions of the period, such as the division of interior spaces by refend walls, an innovation for the manors of this period. Today, the site is a private property and is not open to visit.

Jacques Gardelles' research, published in the Annales du Midi (1973), highlights the importance of this manor house as an early example of an unfortified seigneurial residence in Périgord. His study compares this building with the other domestic buildings of the 12th–14th centuries in the region, highlighting its role in the history of aquitaine rural habitat.

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