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141THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
Castles of Poitou-Charente
Report by Peter Purton
The medieval counties of Poitou, Angoulêmeand the lordship of
Saintes lie within themodern region of Poitou-Charente. In
medievaltimes the land was low-lying, fertile and richapart from
some zones of marshland and itslocation on a pilgrim route to
Santiago deCompostela created further opportunities forwealth. In
the north, major rivers such as theVienne drain into the Loire and
in the south theCharente is the largest. Castles and towns
werefrequently sited at crossing points of theserivers. Castle
building began early in the regionand more than 450 have been
located byhistorians and archaeologists, many of whichdeveloped
from earth and timberconstructions - there are many hundreds
ofpossible mottes, most not further studied - intolarge stone
buildings. A prosperous part of theRoman empire, south west France
also hasmany monuments of the early Frankishsettlement, and large
tombstones of theMerovingian era are to be seen. There is a
6thcentury baptistery in Poitiers itself.
Led by Pamela Marshal with the help ofRichard Eales, 20 CSG
members toured the
medieval sites in June 2019 and sawnumerous castles and many
fine churchesand abbeys, some with glorious wall
paintingssurviving. Many of the castles founded in the11th century
went on to become strongly-walled seats of power expressed through
theconstruction of a donjon, whose lordscompeted for land and
influence.
The territories became part of the Angevinempire when Eleanor of
Aquitaine marriedthe future King Henry II (1152) but manypowerful
families continued to vie for power,sometimes involving conflict
with theiroverlords of whom Richard I (1189-99) whobecame count of
Poitou before he becameking played a major role in local
struggles.Later, as the Capetian kings of Franceundermined Angevin
rule, they played oneking against another and switched
sidesdepending on calculations of who was goingto win. Henry III’s
failed attempt to recoverthese lands in 1242-44 effectively saw the
endof English involvement until a brief recovery inthe first
decades of the Hundred Years War,and the peace of Brétigny (1360)
gave thelands to Edward III. However, the French ledby Du Guesclin
quickly recaptured the regionin the 1370s. In the 15th century,as
elsewhere,wealthy castle owners tended to invest inlavish building
in new styles, often on the samesite as their now old castles, and
the 16thcentury wars of religion, which had asubstantial impact
here because FrenchProtestantism was well-rooted in the southwest,
saw many castles re-used militarily, withnumerous gun loops
inserted into old walls.
Among the families who ‘succeeded’ were theLusignans whose home
castle is near Poitiers,who went on to become kings of Jerusalemand
to rule Cyprus. Other regional potentatesincluded bishops who
created enduring secularlordships for their families as well. Two
ofthese featured on the tour.
Castles of Poitou-CharenteThe CSG tour 19-27 June
2019Report by Peter Purton
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142THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
Scorbie-Clairvaux (fig. 1)
The castle at Scorbie-Clairvaux (Vienne) standson a hill to the
north of Poitiers. Excavations bythe university of that city over
the last five yearsare led by Dr. Nicolas Prouteau who was
ourguide. It was built at the end of the 11th centuryby one of
three major families in the area,serving as an officer of the count
of Poitou. Therectangular great tower dated to the early
12thcentury and was compared with those ofSaumur, Loudon and
Mirebeau, but today onlythe lower section stands. Nearby the
chapeland small sections of the curtain wall survive.Richard I
strengthened it in 1182 in order toreinforce control of the north
of his county - hisfather tried but failed to stop him. Building
workcontinued into the 1190s. Slots for hoardingwere placed at the
top, and a horseshoe-shaped tower was erected around the foot ofthe
donjon, which is attributed to Richard – 21metres in diameter, 28
metres in height, it hasbeen compared with the tower at
Conisbrough.By this time the original tower was alreadyruined. The
entry to the castle was through agate and passage that curled
around in front ofand below the donjon, cut deep into the rock.The
excavation recovered 12th and 13thcentury pottery from here and
also identified ahorse drinking trough at the side of the
passage.The large chapel is dated to 1120-1150. It wasgiven to an
abbey in 1180 and became a priory.Now sporting a new roof the
interior containswall paintings. 23 dogs’ bodies were
foundsuggesting a hunting role. Dr Prouteauproposed that in its
12th century form thecastle had a largely military function.
Chauvigny (fig. 2)
Close to the major episcopal city of Chauvigny(Vienne) the
church of St Peter les églisescontains wall paintings dated to the
late 10thcentury although the building was foundedby the
Carolingians. Chauvigny itself is aremarkable hill-top town with a
city wall and
gates dating from the hundred years’ war butinside five separate
castles. From the 11th tothe 13th centuries members of the
Isembertfamily were successively bishops of Poitiersand created
lordships for the rest of thefamily, making Chauvigny a site of
co-seigneurie on a grand scale. At one end of thepromontory stands
the bishop’s castle alsoknown as the Baronial castle as the
bishophad both functions. It comprises buildings ofmany periods
including an original donjonand structures up to the 15th century:
visitingit involves competing with a large collectionof birds of
prey. Next to it is the Châteaud’Harcourt, a rectangular enclosure
of the13th century, once but no longer with a ditchand with
lodgings and a tower overlookingthe valley. The Château Gouzon is a
donjon(now a museum) originally built in the late11th century then
extended by another bay,and raised in height, in the 12th. The
stagescan be observed in the differences betweenthe buttresses. The
other two sites are the(private) early Tour de Flins (a small
donjonmodified in later centuries) and vestiges ofMontleon. Between
this and Gouzon wassqueezed (another) St Peter’s churchcontaining
spectacular Romanesque carvings.
The abbey of St Savin, east of Chauvigny, wasoriginally walled
and sat by a walled townwith an important, surviving bridge (dating
tothe 13th /14th century) and a motte castle.The surviving abbey
buildings are from 1050-1100 and contain spectacular paintings
onthe roof. The town and abbey played a partin the hundred years’
war, switching fromEnglish to French control in 1369, and
themedieval defences were among thecasualties of the wars of
religion.Grand Pressigny (figs. 3, 4)North-east of Poitiers is the
castle of GrandPressigny (Indre et Loire), a very early
fortifi-cation first mentioned by the 6th century
Castles of Poitou-Charente
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143THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
Castles of Poitou-Charente
Left: Fig 1. ScorbieClairvaux - donjonand chemise.
and chemise.Left: Fig 2. Chauvigny- panorama of 5castles with
Bishop’stower on the far left.
Below Left: Fig.3.Grand Pressigny -gatehouse.
Below Right: Fig.4.Grand Pressigny - half adonjon and its
chemise
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144THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
chronicler Gregory of Tours and noticed in an8th century
charter. Guillaume de Pressignycertainly had a castle there by the
1190s. Thedonjon was of four wooden floors over abasement and
occupied a walled space withattached buildings. It was entered at
groundfloor level from a narrow passage in thecomplex. In 1202 King
John tried to confiscateit but Guillaume did not leave and
insteadpledged himself to Philip Augustus, king ofFrance. He also
doubled the thickness of thedonjon walls and created a stone,
toweredcurtain around the inner ward. By the 13thcentury the gate
tower at the far end of thecomplex had been made into a gatehouse
withround towers. Later, new owners erectedlodgings in renaissance
style and reconfiguredthe donjon to have seven floors, five of
themvaulted. Sadly, half of this great tower col-lapsed in dramatic
fashion in 1988 – beforeand after photographs are on display
alongwith reconstruction drawings and archaeolog-ical finds in a
modern museum now separatingthe inner from the outer wards.
A few miles south stands the walled town andcastle of La Roche
Posay (Vienne), on animportant crossing of the river Creuse.
Thetown gate survives as does the 12th centurydonjon of the castle
and an interestingfortified church with a turret built onto theside
overlooking the river.
Angles sur Anglin (fig. 5)
More impressive are the remains of the 300metre-long hill-top
castle of Angles sur Anglin(Vienne), dominating a crossing point of
thatriver, and also boasting a fortified town thoughlittle remains
of the urban defences. The castleby contrast dominates the
landscape. LikeChauvigny, not far distant, it was owned by
theIsembert family and the bishops they spawnedbetween 963 and
1087, then fell into thehands of the Lusignans before returning to
thebishops in 1300. Thereafter it ceased being a
point of conflict and construction up to the15th century. The
first castle on the site was amotte with a small bailey, dated to
c. 1025,which was left standing at the opposite end tothe later
entrance, but cut off from the newcastle by a natural ravine
possibly widened byhuman effort – it is known as the ‘tranchée
desAnglais’ after a possibly legendary account ofEnglish soldiers
using it to gain entry duringthe 100 years’ war. A chapel still
stands in thisearly castle, which preserves some originalstone
walls. A 12th century chapel (St Mary)stands over the gate (an
arrangement notuncommon in France)¹, to which a barbicanwas added
in 1470. Inside, between the innerand outer wards, lies a donjon,
or rather two:the first, much smaller, with a survivingRomanesque
vault, was partly demolished anda grand new structure was built on
one endacross the width of the ridge from 1301.Further work to
modernise the tower isrepresented by the lower levels of a
grandstaircase dating to the 15th century. Thebishop’s coat of arms
decorating the castlegate is of the same date. In the
barbican-likestructure built to host a postern gate into theravine
are a number of gun loops, and severalmore in the curtain wall on
the north face (theother side being against the river): some wereof
14th century origin and others appear tohave been inserted
presumably during thewars of religion.Parthenay (figs. 6, 7)
To the north west of Poitiers the lords ofParthenay were the
significant family,following first the counts of Poitou then
thebishops of Bordeaux. The first reference is in1020 but no
archaeological remains earlierthan the 12th century survive. It is
the chieftown of a region known as the ‘gatine’(i.e.,‘waste’). Its
construction in the 13thcentury is identified in a period of war
withKing John and English subsidies assisted thework. The upper
town occupies a long hill
Castles of Poitou-Charente
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145THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
Above: Left: Fig. 5. Angles sur Anglin - curtain, donjons
centre.Right: Fig. 6. Parthenay - Porte St Jacques.
Castles of Poitou-Charente
Left:: Fig. 7. Parthenay Castle - 15th century Richemont
bastion.Right: Fig. 8.1. Coudray Salbart - aerial view from the
south-west (Image: © Jean-Michel Goulard)
Left: Fig. 8.2 Coudray Salbart - main gate and towers, seen from
the now destroyed barbican. Viewfrom the north-west. Right: Fig. 9.
Coudray Salbart - drawbridge chamber above gate (restored).
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146THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
surrounded by a powerful, towered curtainwith a prominent gate
from the lower town,in which more of the wall is preserved
alongwith the splendid Porte St Jacques. The castleoccupies the end
of the ridge, cut off by aditch and the 13th century castle is
shapedlike an irregular triangle with six roundtowers, one of which
was incorporated intoa strong artillery fort, the bastille
deRichemont built in the 15th century, namedafter the lord who was
granted the townwhen the Archeveque family died out, and anew
frontal wall pierced for guns was erectedin front of the old wall
along the ditch. Theother half of the original
twin-toweredgatehouse has disappeared. Nothing remainsof the
interior buildings. The old town itselfstill contains many medieval
houses andinteresting churches.Le Coudray-Salbart (figs. 8-11)
The same family was responsible for buildingthe intriguing
castle of Le Coudray-Salbart,when as an ally of the Angevins they
obtainedfinancial subsidies from John from 1202 andremained loyal
until the province was defini-tively lost in 1228, after which the
castle lostits strategic significance. In the form of atrapezium c.
55 by 35 metres, ditched andwith an outer bailey with a barbican
nowlargely disappeared, the inner castle isflanked by six large but
different towers. Thisfinal form emerged after a rapid period
ofbuilding during which the original moremodest castle of c. 1200
was extended sub-stantially to the north almost as soon
ascompleted, doubling the area and requiringa relocation of the
entrance. Foundations ofthe demolished curtain can be seen
inside.The gate is a passage through a single circulartower
(compare the Dublin gate at Trim) andthe drawbridge mechanism has
been recon-structed in the room above. Also circular isthe tour
Bois-Berthier, 12m in diameter withfinely vaulted chambers. Two of
the towers
are beaked, and one has been doubled inwall thickness by the
addition of masonrystanding to half the height of the tower.
Aremarkable feature is the gallery that runsaround at ground level
inside the thicknessof the curtain wall with regularly spacedloops
which must surely be designed fordefence while numerous other loops
standin embrasures inside the towers, althoughthose in the Tour
Bois Berthier must be fordisplay since they could not have
functionedfor shooting from. Displayed in one of thegalleries are
reconstruction drawings of theproposed building sequence – some
doubtswere expressed about what was suggested.The great tower has a
pronounced beak andis provided with spacious and ornate cham-bers
inside, now restored as is some of therest of the castle which is
administered bythe ‘Friends of Coudray-Salbart’. JeanMesqui
(Châteaux forts et fortifications enFrance, 2000, 138-41) has
identified manyconnections with Plantagenet castle-buildingat
Loches and Dover including the crossedand stirrup loops which are
among the earli-est in France. It is, he states, ‘un
châteauexceptionnel’.Niort (fig. 12)Also exceptional is the
Plantagenet castle atNiort (Deux Sèvres) consisting of twodonjons
in an enclosure, linked by a logisbuilding in the 15th century.
Both are rectan-gular with cylindrical buttressing at the cor-ners.
Exact dating is uncertain but they areattributed to Henry II and to
Eleanor ofAquitaine or to Henry and Richard. Presum-ably signifying
joint sovereignty, they maydate from either the 1160s or possibly
(asproposed by the writer of an authoritativemonograph, Marie
Baudry) 1174-85. Theinterior has been transformed into amuseum
containing interesting archaeologyand medieval tombstones; the
castle’s actualdefences, comprising a towered curtain wall,
Castles of Poitou-Charente
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147THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
Castles of Poitou-Charente
Fig. 10. Coudray Salbart - one of the galleries inside the
curtain walls.
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148THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
as well as the city’s own wall, have beendemolished leaving the
twin towers isolated,and looking very different from how theywould
have appeared when serving as royalor comital residences.Cherveux
(figs. 13, 14)A short distance north of Niort is the castle
ofCherveux (Deux Sèvres) which is a two-wardcastle on a low lying
site, but Cherveux-le-vieux, constructed by the Lusignan family,
hadbeen destroyed by the 13th century and thenew version was put up
by Robert Cunning-ham, a Scottish soldier who was rewarded forhis
service in the guard of king Charles VII andbuilt the castle from
1470. A prominent coat ofarms on the front displays his ownership
along-side the fleur de lys and the current owner, M.François
Redien, whose family bought the farmon which it stands, is proud to
display theScottish connection to visitors. A small
toweredcourtyard, very ruinous, lies inside a wet moat.One tower
has been demolished. The originalentrance survives as a
keep-gatehouse but wasreplaced by a new bridge and gatehouse.
Thedonjon has five floors, much ruined or partiallyrestored. There
are fireplaces and garderobesand a remarkable amount of original
timber hasbeen preserved in the roof both of the donjonand of the
adjacent great hall, which now lacksits original plaster and tiles.
There is a galleryaround the top of the donjon pierced with
15thcentury gun loops and here and there 16thcentury loops have
been driven through thewalls, dating from the wars of religion.
Fourcarvings on each of the top corners of the towerinclude a
pisser, a crapper and a bagpiper! Theowner prefers looking after
his castle to farmingand should ensure its future.Château Larcher
(fig. 15)
Château Larcher (Vienne) was also a Lusignancastle. Following
the final defeat of thePlantagenets after Henry III’s
failedexpedition of 1242 the king of France (Louis
IX) kindly allowed the family to retain thecastle in exchange
for 400 livres per year andthe maintenance of a royal garrison
inside –an expensive lesson in choosing the losingside. The
pentagonal castle occupies a hill topnow shared with private
dwellings thatprevent access to the ruinous pentangulardonjon but
there remain a fortified churchwhich is part of the castle
perimeter, a loopedtwin-towered gatehouse of the first half ofthe
13th century and stretches of curtain wallpierced with gun loops in
the 15th century.
Gençay (figs. 16, 17)
Close by is Gençay (Vienne) standing likeChâteau Larcher high
above the river Clouère,where Clément Arnaud, who is doing
hisdoctorate on the castle under Dr Prouteau,led the tour.
Originally a 10th century castrumof the counts of Poitou, when it
was burnt inwar, it fell to the counts of La Marche. Later(12th
century), a donjon with buttresses wasbuilt there by new owners the
lords ofRancon, and its foundations remain inside thelater curtain
wall. In the 1240s the castle fellinto the hands of the victorious
French kingwhose brother (Alphonse de Poitiers) gave itas a reward
to a loyal supporter who startedto build what stands now. The
donjon wasabandoned and a new great hall built on theother side of
the gate - a 14th century windowin the curtain remains as evidence.
Therewere further changes when during thehundred years’ war the
heiress married anEnglish settler, Gregory Says, and it took a
twoyear-long siege by Du Guesclin to restore it toFrench possession
in 1374, the last Englishpossession in Poitou to hold out. In front
ofthe twin towered gatehouse is a small butwell defended châtelet
of 1240-70 with 14thcentury gun loops added by Gregory, whomay also
have heightened the front curtain(or it may have been done later by
the Dukeof Berry, the king’s brother who took it over).
Castles of Poitou-Charente
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149THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
Castles of Poitou-Charente
Top: Left: Fig. 11. Coudray Salbart - TourDouble (left), Tour
Bois Berthier (right).Top: Right: Fig. 12. Niort - the two
donjons.
Middle, Left: Fig. 13. Cherveux - Great towerwith moat and
bridge.
Middle, Right: Fig. 14. Cherveux- Great Towerwall-walk carving
of bagpiper.
BELOW: Fig. 15. Château Larcher - the churchis built into the
castle
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150THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
The gate is protected by a double portcullisand a drawbridge at
the end of the stonebridge. The curtain forms a triangle
followingthe contours of the hill with towers at eachcorner, though
the north tower has gone. Aremarkable covered passage snaked
downfrom a gate in the south curtain to a posternin the ditch far
below.
St Germain de Confolens (fig. 18)
The castle at St Germain de Confolens(Charente) is now
represented by twoprominent towers of the 15th centurystanding high
on a hill overlooking the riverVienne and bridge and a much ruined
innerbailey in which is located the foundations ofthe castle’s
original 11th century donjon. Thepreserved chapel of St Vincent
stands in theouter bailey close by. In the 16th century, gunloops
were pierced in all the towers severalof which are accessible.
La Rochefoucauld (fig. 19)
Further south, in the old county of Angoulême,stands La
Rochefoucauld (Charente), a castlewith a long history of ownership
by the samefamily since its foundation in 980 by oneFoucauld,
allegedly as a protection againstViking attacks. The dowager
duchess, anelderly lady whose son is the current duke,provided a
personal tour in which her grasp ofhistory was a little shaky but
her pride in herlineage was evident. Built into a
Renaissancefaçade, the first donjon is dated to 1010. Thetwin
towered gatehouse and the curtain walldate from the 1220s. In 1453,
three additionaltowers were added to the structure and at theend of
the fifteenth century the internalbuildings were constructed and
the ancientdonjon was raised in height (it was long just
atwo-storey keep) to match the new height ofthe walls and
residential wings. The then dukewas a cousin of King Francis I
(1515-47) andunder the influence of his wife Ann thesurviving three
storeys of galleries were
added; inside there is a magnificent staircasedesigned by
Leonardo da Vinci (then residingat the French court). Damaged by
fire andabandoned for years the castle survived theFrench
revolution and was returned to thefamily and restoration began in
the lastcentury. Visitors can also see inside thegatehouse towers
and CSG were able to inspecta superb family archive with original
medievaldocuments carefully preserved. It was possibleto visit much
of the interior including thepassage down to the river to a cave
where thestands the rock from which the castle andfamily have taken
their name.
Angoulême
The former Roman city of Angoulême itselfstill boasts
Gallo-Roman ramparts and manychurches including a large cathedral.
Thecastle of the counts, however, was reducedto two surviving
towers and the rest buriedbeneath the current city hall. Access
wasobtained through the good offices of JacquesBaudet of the
Société Archéologique etHistorique de la Charente who opened up
theSociety’s museum which contains awonderful collection of
antiquities of manyages including medieval capitals andtombstones
from the former castle and localabbeys. The male line of counts
died out andthe heiress married into the Lusignan family:when the
region became French in 1242 thenew regime was marked physically by
theerection of a new royal castle inside the city(which has now
disappeared totally). Duringthe brief period of English conquest in
themid-14th century the Black Prince held courtin the old comital
castle. Access would havebeen impossible without M.
Baudet’sassistance although the interior of bothsurviving towers,
one of them the donjon, hasbeen set up with information boards
andmodels including one of the disappeared latercastle. The route
involved climbing to the rooflevel of the originally thirteenth
century Tour
Castles of Poitou-Charente
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151THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
Castles of Poitou-Charente
Above: Fig. 16. Gençay: ditch bridge, chatelet, gatehouse.
Right: Fig. 17. Gençay south front
Above left: Fig. 18. St Germain de Confolens frontage.Right:
Fig. 19. La Rochefoucauld - donjon 1010 behind 13th century
gatehouse; one of the 15thcentury towers far left.
Above left: Fig. 20. Aubeterre - castle stands above rock-cut
church.Right: Fig. 21. Villebois-Lavalette - chapel (or two) at
gate.
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152THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
Isabelle then crossing the original roof line toaccess the upper
levels of the donjon.
Aubeterre (fig. 20)
South of the old city is the remarkable churchat Aubeterre
excavated from the rockoriginating as a late Roman Mithraeum
thentaken over by the Benedictines and convertedover a long period
up to the 12th century intoa church that is now the size and height
of thecathedral, with galleries carved out of the rockoverlooking
the interior in which hundreds oftombs have been found. From the
uppergallery there ran a tunnel up through the rockto reach the
castle, now inaccessible becauseprivately owned, which occupied the
top ofthe rock. The motte of the first castle can beseen behind the
later curtain wall, and a smallbut impressive gatehouse, the
pedestrianroute to the dependent town below, andsome of the curtain
walls and its turretsremain visible.
Villebois-Lavalette (fig. 21)
The impressive remains of Villebois-Lavalette(Charente) – the
final part of the name is a19th century addition – was, like
Aubeterre,a castellany attached to the county ofAngoulême. The
first reference to Fourchierde Villebois (in a Latin form) is found
in the8th century. Its location on the Roman roadfrom Perigueux to
Saintes may account for itsexistence, and its Romanesque chapel
relatesto it being on a pilgrim route. It was takenthen retaken in
the 100 years’ war eventuallyfalling to the Duke of Berry and was
the seatof a prominent local family. At the end of thesixteenth
century a new château was built onthe medieval castle by the duke
D’Epernonafter he captured it in 1589. Today, the site isa mixture
of all these periods, sometimes hardto disentangle, and some
excavation andrestoration has taken place. The early motteis still
visible but built into its side (and ofmuch greater dimensions) is
an immense
basement dating to the 12th or 13th century.Recent discussion
suggests it may never havebeen roofed so what was it for? It
appears tobe the lower level of a vast hall block and itpossesses
its own well. The chapel building isalso undergoing restoration, it
stands over agate passage (though the main entrance wasthrough twin
13th century towers at theopposite end of the castle) but the
actualchapel building on the ground floor isinaccessible. Access
was gained to the upperlevel which is largely plain and there
wasdebate as to whether this was a chamber, orperhaps an upper
chapel, one for thepilgrims, the other for the castle? A circuit
ofthe exterior of the towered curtain revealedit had been provided
with almost everyknown variety of arrow loop.
Montignac (fig. 22)
A few miles north of Angoulême is theimportant early castle of
the counts atAndone, undergoing excavation and nowinaccessible, but
nearby is the castle ofMontignac (Charente) which replaced it as
acentre of comital power in 1028. The fine butsmall two storey
donjon has been dated (byBaudry) to the 1140s. Andone did not have
agate tower but Montignac has a fine thoughmodest specimen
providing access to thetown, and bits of a once substantial
curtainwall enclosing a large area. The council’sgardeners working
on the grounds kindlyfetched the key to allow access to the
interiorbut the building was much messed with inlater centuries and
not much could be learnt.
Cognac (Title image)
Cognac (Charente) is better known forreasons other than its
castle and a brandyplant now occupies its site. It had
beenimportant into early modern times: there areparts of the 13th
century curtain wall and amassive city gate and a large tower of
thecastle logis, substantially rebuilt in the 14th
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153THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
and 15th centuries. It is revered as thebirthplace of King
Francis I.
Pons (figs. 23, 24)
Pons (Charente Maritime) today is anenormous donjon visible for
miles as it standson a height above its town. Originally acastrum,
its ovoidal shape can be traced in thepattern of the roads though
little remains ofthe curtain. The first reference to Geoffrey
dePons was in 1067, when he was a supporterof the Angevin counts.
The donjon itself datesfrom the late 12th century although it
isthought possible that another lordship (as atChauvigny and
elsewhere) also existed insidethe walls. In 1136 the first donjon
wasdestroyed by the count of Angoulême and itwas rebuilt when it
was recovered. Richardthe Lionheart punished the current Geoffreyin
the 1180s by confiscating the castle so it ispossible that the
present structure dates froma rebuild after he got it back. Later,
it had tobe retaken by force by its lord from hisestranged wife who
held it against him in1372. The site has been excavated and it
isclear that the immense tower was a result ofextending the earlier
version by removing twowalls and also heightening it. There is
noquestion of its fundamentally symbolic andceremonial role: there
are only two floors andthe main room above the basement soars
intothe air in breath-taking fashion. It was pointedout that the
double set of garderobes setbehind the high end of the room
resembledthe arrangement at Norwich.
Talmont sur Gironde (fig. 25)
Talmont sur Gironde (Charente Maritime) wasa bastide built at
the end of a promontory atthe mouth of the estuary of the river as
it camedown from Bordeaux, allowing ships basedthere to interfere
or assist the wine trade thatwas so vital. From around 1083 there
was acastrum and the original motte was put up nextto the church of
Ste Radegonde (12th century).
It remained in English control and Edward Ibought the town and
immediately ordered thebastide built in the 1280s. In 1337 it fell
to theFrench after a two month siege and was neverrecovered by the
English. In 1405, the Castiliannaval captain Pero Nino was based
there withships to harass the Gascon wine trade. Thetown is now a
tourist destination but thereremain large parts of the walls and a
beautifulchurch which stands next to what appears tohave been a
water gate that would have beenadjacent to the motte.
La Rochelle (fig. 26)
The city of La Rochelle (Charente Maritime) iswell known to many
visitors chiefly because ofthe towers built to protect the harbour.
It wasestablished as a new town by the counts ofPoitou in the
1130s, it boomed as a trading portand grew in size requiring an
extension to itswalls. A castle was built inside that
excavationrevealed had a huge area. The French capturedit in 1224
and although regained by the BlackPrince it was recovered in 1372
when theEnglish garrison was overpowered by the inhab-itants,
allegedly (according to a story told byFroissart) because a stupid
governor wasconned by the townsfolk into bringing histroops to
parade outside the castle. When theythen handed the place over to
the King ofFrance they first demanded the demolition ofthe castle.
The two towers between which achain could be suspended to block the
harbour(called St Nicholas and Chain towers) were builtin the 1370s
and 1380s while the Lanternetower (serving as a lighthouse) was put
up inthe 1450s. Of the city walls the only survival isthe
magnificent Grosse Horloge, a clockmounted on top of one of the
city gates. Unlikemost places visited, detailed information on
thehistory and construction of the towers is readilyavailable on
site.
The final leg of the tour was based in theancient Roman city of
Saintes (Charente-
Castles of Poitou-Charente
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154THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
Above left: Fig. 22. Montignac donjon from theS-E. Right: Fig.
23. Pons - donjon from the S.
Castles of Poitou-Charente
Left: Fig. 24. Pons - donjon interior is a single hall. Right:
Fig. 25. Talmont sur Gironde -curtainwall and 12th century church
of Ste Radegonde.
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155THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP JOURNAL NO. 34
Castles of Poitou-Charente
Fig. 26. La Rochelle - St Nicholas (left) and Chain towers.
Maritime), capital of the region in which theubiquitous
Saintonge pottery originated. Ithas a number of medieval churches
includingan immense but sombre Gothic cathedral,and an enormous
Romanesque crypt housingthe bones of an early Christian martyr
(StEustoque) but only fragments of the Gallo-Roman and medieval
town walls and parts ofthe 17th century bastioned fortress built
overthe site of the medieval castle and count’spalace.
Further readingGuidebooks to the sites mentioned are
rare.Baudry, M-P, Les fortifications des Plantagenets enPoitou
1154-1242, 2001Baudry, M-P, Chateaux Romans en
Poitou-CharentesX-XII siècles, Cahiers du Patrimoine 95,
2011Baudry, M-P, Le Château de Niort, EditionsPatrimoines
2013Bonnin J-C and Faucherre, N, The towers of LaRochelle (Eng.
Ed.), Editions du Patrimoine, 2004.
Chaboisseau, M-C, Chauvigny, des origines au XX s.,Chauvigny,
2012.Montigny, A (et al), Le château de Villebois-Lavalettedes
origines à nos jours, Collection les amis duchâteau et du
patrimoine de Villebois-Lavalette, 2018Office de tourisme Angles
sur l’Anglin, Angles surL’Anglin, la ville, le château,
1993.Rochefoucauld, M de la, Stumm, F, La Rochefoucauldcastle. An
epic family tale, Editions sud-ouest, nd.Otherwise, brief
information is provided in the standardguides to French castles by
Mesqui and Salch.
Notes¹ Paul Duffy has proposed a link between thisstructure and
the St Mary chapel over the gateat Carrickfergus as Angles sur
Anglin stands ona possible route north from Carcassonne (whichhas a
similar chapel) followed by Hugh de Lacy:P Duffy et al (eds)., From
Carrickfergus to Car-cassonne. The epic deeds of Hugh de Lacyduring
the Albigensian crusade, Turnhout,2017, p. 319. Reviewed by Rachel
Swallow inthe CSG Journal 32 (2018-19), 316-20.