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Origin and history

The castle of Saint-Urcisse rises on the site of an old strong house attested from the fourteenth century. Local archives, exceptionally rich, preserve 17th-century plans describing a brick construction with wooden structures and earth fences, deemed "damaged". These documents also reveal the architectural ambitions of Intendant Legendre, general manager of the king's buildings, who undertook a major renovation of the site between 1710 and 1727. With a passion for architecture, Legendre asked for plans from renowned artists and architects such as Bassat, Tenière, Roussel, Boisjoly, and Leblond, who were also engaged in construction projects for Pierre le Grand in St Petersburg. Frequent exchanges with the Parisian community, including Robert de Cotte and Simon (responsible for the works of the Cathedral of Montauban), illustrate the ambition of the project, although the financial resources limited its full implementation.

The interior decoration of the castle, preserved despite minor arrangements in the 19th century, reflects this unfinished fascist. Legendre also uses artists for furniture and ornaments, without being able to realize all his visions. The estate is part of an ancient landscape tradition: a garden is mentioned as early as 1539, and 17th-century documents evoke an orchard, a nursery, and an aisle bordered by abalone. In 1712 Legendre launched a campaign of works including terraces, for which he brought a gardener back in 1715. The plans of 1723, entrusted to Roussel and Boisjolly, aim to connect the terraces with the surrounding wood to create "the most beautiful garden in the country".

Acquired in 1728 by the Tauriac brothers, the estate continues its evolution with plantations of trees (nut trees, oaks, abalone between 1733 and 1740, chestnut trees from India in 1782). At the beginning of the 19th century, Michel de Corneillan completely restructured the park between 1804 and 1818, dividing it into three distinct parts: a French-style garden, an English-style garden, and an exotic section. This project includes picturesque factories (bergery, dance hall, pond) and harmonized vegetation. Between 1858 and 1863, an orangery and a new basin were added to the bass terrace, while some aisles were redesigned and the pigeon house demolished. These successive changes make the castle and its park a unique testimony to the architectural and landscape developments of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

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