Bastide de Durance

Durance

In a clearing of the Landes de Gascogne, at the crossing of old roads including that from Mont-de-Marsan to Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Durance is a small English bastide founded in 1320 by King Edward II in paréage with the prior of Saint-Étienne-de-la-Grange, a Premonstratensian priory of the 13th century whose chapel keeps wall paintings of the 14th century. The fortified village was an English stronghold during the Hundred Years' War before being ceded to the Albret family, and Henri de Navarre, the future Henri IV, had a hunting lodge there. A straight main street starts from the south gate, well preserved with its arrow slits, and passes before the church of Saint-Étienne, the former chapel of the castle, of the 15th century, to reach a square of forty metres by twenty-five. Timber-framed houses line the street: a pocket bastide, intact in its setting of pines.

Getting there : Free access to the village and to the fortified gate. The château Henri-IV is private property; no tourist office or market documented in the texts.

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

Ambient sound