Puy Vidal Castle: A Medieval Fortified Castle in France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.9
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Modern
- Civilizations
- French
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page8 sections
History
Puy Vidal Castle is a medieval fortified castle in France, overlooking the Bandiat valley at Saint-Projet-Saint-Constant near La Rochefoucauld in Charente. Its construction and alterations extend from the thirteenth through the nineteenth century. The castle developed around a motte, a raised earthwork associated with an early fortified residence, although the Vidal who gave the site its name remains unidentified.
Medieval Lords and Succession
The first known lord of Puyvidal was Guyot David, who paid homage in 1267 to Hugues de Lusignan, Count of Angoulême. Homage was a formal act in which a lord acknowledged dependence on a superior while accepting the obligations of that relationship.
Through dowry transfers and inheritance, Puyvidal passed between several families. Charles de Livron acquired it in 1456, and the Livron family retained the property until 1908.
Rebuilding and Later Changes
The main residential block was reconstructed in the fifteenth century, while further changes continued during the nineteenth century. In 1810, the northwestern tower was replaced by a rectangular pavilion. The roof timbers were also modified during the nineteenth century, changing the roofs into flat roofs. A nineteenth-century building later occupied the site of the former curtain wall and medieval gate.
The property remains privately owned. Puy Vidal Castle was listed as a historic monument in France on 18 September 2006 and is included in the Mérimée architectural-heritage database under reference PA16000036. The gardens were created in 2002 and received the French Jardin remarquable designation, a recognition for gardens of outstanding historical, aesthetic, or horticultural interest.
Remains
Fortified Buildings and Courtyard
Puy Vidal Castle is organized around a rectangular fortified residential building, surviving tower structures, and an inner courtyard. The main block stands against the remains of the northern curtain wall, a defensive wall enclosing a castle or one of its courts. The courtyard includes north and east wings, while later construction occupies part of the medieval defensive line.
Residential Block and Entrance
Reconstructed in the fifteenth century, the main residential block has mullioned windows, which are divided vertically by stone or timber members. Its entrance is decorated with prismatic moldings and opens onto a staircase built within the structure. The staircase contains a spiral stair, or vis, lit by molded openings, an unusual arrangement for the period.
Towers and Pavilion
Three cylindrical towers may date from the thirteenth century. The northwestern tower was replaced by a rectangular pavilion in 1810. The southwestern tower may originally have served as a courtroom, but its conversion into an apartment destroyed the features that would have identified that function.
Courtyard and Gardens
The inner courtyard is accompanied by grounds containing a broad lawn, a boxwood maze, a cypress avenue, a small hornbeam grove, a flower garden, and a kitchen garden. These gardens were created in 2002 and form part of the present arrangement of the castle grounds.
