Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Caudeval Castle, also known as Caudaval Castle, is a 16th-century building located in Puylaurens, Tarn (Occitanie). Built by a family of little Tarnais nobility, it was marked by the Wars of Religion: in 1586 it fell into the hands of the Huguenots led by Roger (or Thomas) of Durfort, Lord of Deyme. A certain Gaspard de Lacalm was mentioned as "sieur de Pratsagrens et Caudaval" in 1590 or 1593, although his exact connection with the castle remained uncertain.

After the French Revolution, the castle passed into the hands of the Cambefort family, notably Antoine Cambefort-Sabournac, a Tarn lawyer, who became its owner in 1796. His son, Paul Emile, was born there, and his grandson, Paul-Félix, died there in 1903. However, part of the 19th century saw the Belaud family in possession, before Paul-Félix Cambefort bought it back between 1878 and 1879. The castle, then old, is largely restored, with major modifications such as the reorganization of windows and towers.

The architecture of the castle combines a three-storey house body flanked by two circular towers, partially preserved despite renovations. The niches added in the 19th century are purely decorative, and ancient elements, such as a braided window or a hammered bas-relief, remain. The estate includes a half-timbered pavilion and a dovecote, with an entrance marked by a metallic cross representing the Virgin Mary.

The castle illustrates the architectural changes and property changes typical of French rural monuments between the 16th and 19th centuries. Its history reflects the political and religious upheavals of the region, especially during the Wars of Religion and the Revolution, as well as the influence of local families on its evolution.

External links