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Legendary castleDordogne

Château de Barrière

Villamblard

Dimensions
A large fortified tower, partly destroyed, and a Renaissance residence. The keep is crowned with a wall-walk on corbels, between which Renaissance scallop shells are carved; the ditches are cut in the rock. In 1632 the ensemble had two large round towers on the eastern side joined by a great main range. The original cellar is accessible.
Period
Keep and first defences of the 13th century, alterations in the 15th and 16th centuries, enlargement and restoration from 1619 by Daniel de Taillefer.
What stands there
Inscribed as a monument historique on 24 June 1948 (PA00083063). Attached in the 14th century to the lordship of Grignols. A fire at the end of the 19th century destroyed a large part of the main range. Count Wlgrin de Taillefer, archaeologist and author of the Antiquités de Vésone, was born there. The castle has belonged to the commune since a gift by the Murat family in 1824.

A castle already guarded, in 848, the road from Agen to Périgueux on the site of Villamblard. The Barrière family raised the present castle in the 13th century, a keep surrounded by ditches cut in the rock, attested in 1312; in 1449 Anne de Barrière married Bardin de Lur and the lordship passed to the Lur. In 1591 the place underwent a siege that the country celebrated in song. Daniel de Taillefer enlarged and restored the whole from 1619; in 1632 it had two large round towers joined by a great main range. Sold in 1809 and then worked as a stone quarry, the castle was given to the commune in 1824 by the Murat family; it has been inscribed as a monument historique since 24 June 1948 and can be visited today free of charge.

Further reading

Getting there : Remains open to the public, unguided or guided, free of charge, all year; guided tours for groups by appointment. On view are old furniture, utensils and a collection of some eighty fireplace plates of the 16th–18th centuries, as well as the original cellar. Address: avenue Édouard-Dupuy, 24140 Villamblard.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Château de Barrière
Cjp24 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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In the same department

All places — Dordogne (80).