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Origin and history

The Extremouy Tower is a 13th and 14th century building built in the hamlet of Extremouy, on the town of Gazaupouy (Gers), in the Occitan region. His name sometimes appears under Extremouy, reflecting the local pronunciation. It is located about 3 km north-northwest of the village, along the departmental road D 931. Its rise coincides with a period of border tensions after the Treaty of Amiens (1279), which gave Agen to the English, although the hypothesis of a defensive "front line", put forward by Philippe Lauzun, was contested by historians such as Jacques Gardelles.

The tower adopts a quadrilateral plane (10 m × 14 m) for a height of about 15 meters, divided into four floors, the last of which, under attic, served as a living space. A circular tower in corbellation, added in the 16th century, houses a spiral staircase connecting the second floor to the round road. Openings (archery, trilobed berries) and bolt holes suggest the absence of mâchicoulis, but the likely presence of wood sturds. An enclosure, now disappeared, initially accompanied the tower, but did not form a castral ensemble justifying its erroneous dungeon name.

Ranked a historical monument by decree of 23 November 1982, the tower preserves remarkable architectural elements, such as merlons pierced by cruciform archeries and murderers. Its first floor features archery, windows and wall fittings ( wardrobes), while the third floor preserved arched bays. Subsequent changes, including the addition of the turret, reflect its adaptation to residential and defensive needs over the centuries.

The historical context of its construction is part of the French-English rivalries in Gascogne, where the towers like Estrepouy served both as surveillance points and as seigneurial residences. Although its exact role in this conflict remains under discussion, its architecture reflects local fortification techniques, combining military (watch, defense) and domestic (habitat, storage) functions.

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