Bastide de Castelnau-sur-Gupie

Castelnau-sur-Gupie

North-west of Marmande, on a promontory overlooking the little valley of the Gupie, Castelnau-sur-Gupie is an English bastide founded in 1276 by Edward I, king of England and duke of Aquitaine. The name, "new castle", attested in the latinised form Castellinovi as early as 1274, is that of dozens of villages in the South-West; here it denotes a place wanted by the king-duke to neutralise the threat which the neighbouring castle of the baron of Mauvezin posed to his line of defence. Around its market-hall square the village keeps the look of a small medieval town, with its church of Saint-Front built about 1323 on the site of a former commandery, enlarged in the 15th century by the knights of Malta and crowned with a remarkable Gothic bell-tower. The castle itself has gone, perhaps destroyed during the Revolution. A discreet stopping-place on the road of the bastides of the Marmandais.

Getting there : Free access to the village. No tourist office or market is documented in the texts.

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

Ambient sound