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Origin and history

The Escous Tower, located at Penne-d'Agenais in Lot-et-Garonne, originates from the system of dams built on the Lot at the end of the 13th century under the impulse of the King of England. The Lestaque Dam, rebuilt in 1308 and mentioned in 1311, was one of the eleven dams of the bailliage of Penne. These works were used to control the river and collect tolls, encouraging local lords to build fortified buildings nearby.

In the 15th century, the site is known as Escous and belongs to the families of Lustrac and Laduguie. The present tower, dated from the second half of the 15th century, would have been built by Jean de Laduguie, mentioned as "sieur de la Tour de Lestanch" in 1482. It was used to monitor the dam and assert the seigneurial power, with a noble room equipped with cannons and a round road crowned with mâchicoulis.

In the 17th century, the seigneury of Escous passed to the Labrunie family, which added a house adjacent to the tower. In 1776, a door was pierced on the ground floor of the tower, as indicated by the date engraved on its staple. The property was then enlarged with a wing in return for square, probably for Pierre de Montalembert, heir to the noble house after 1777. The revolutionary seizure report describes a house consisting of four bedrooms, a kitchen, outbuildings and a garden.

The tower, which was listed as historical monuments in 1964, illustrates the architectural and social evolution of a seigneurial site linked to river exploitation. Its architecture combines defensive elements (mâchicoulis, cannonières) and residential elements (logis, chimney), reflecting the successive adaptations of the noble families that followed it.

Today, the Escout tower still dominates the Lot landscape, testifying to the history of medieval dams and feudal organization in Aquitaine. His cadastral plan of 1830 shows a structure close to the present, with modifications made by the brothers Bonnefoux de Penne in the 19th century.

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