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Origin and history

The Château de Lacombe, located in Tarascon-sur-Ariège (formerly Banat) in Ariège, is a fortified house transformed in the seventeenth century by the Deguilhem family. Built on the remains of an older fortification, it depended on Foix County. Its origin dates back to the purchase in 1634 of a farmhouse by François III Deguilhem, captain of Rabat and founder of power of the Count of Foix, for 9,400 pounds. The region, which was then unstable due to the wars of Religion and border disturbances, justified such a fortification.

The current three-storey quadrilateral building is flanked by towers and a mâchicoulis scaluette. Its facades retain crows, remains of an old round road. Inside, two carved stucco fireplaces, inspired by the works of Primatice in Fontainebleau, have been classified as historical monuments since 1983. The rest of the castle was registered in 1992. Access is through an alley of centuries-old plane trees, leading to a framed courtyard of an annex with brick roof.

The Deguilhem family, initially roturous, grew up socially in the 17th century by combining with the local nobility. François III Deguilhem married in 1624 Anne de Saint Pastou de Lapeyrere, and their descendant Bernard obtained a recognition of nobility in 1699, despite protests. The castle remained in the family until the Revolution, then passed to the Saint John of Pointis (1891) and to the Ginesty. His Louis XIII furniture, still present in 1910, bears witness to his past prestige.

The origins of the Deguilhem in Rabat-les-Trois-Seigneurs date back to 1560, when Antoine Deguilhem, notary and prosecutor, acquired seigneurial rights. The family, involved in local militias during the religious wars, used marriage strategies and demands for nobility (especially in 1666 and 1699) to integrate into the aristocracy. Their genealogy, disputed, would wrongly link them to the Guilhem of Clermont-Lodève.

In 1747 Bernard de Lapeyrère, great-grandson of François III, was lord of Lacombe during a conflict with the consul of Tarascon. After the Revolution, the castle changed hands, maintaining its historical character. Today, it is close to the park of Prehistory, emphasizing its anchoring in a territory marked by medieval and modern history.

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