Le Château

Brizambourg Castle was situated to the north of the village and likely occupied the entire area. Its walls must have enclosed the Avenue des Tilleuls, the fairground, the northern section of Rue du Champ de Foire, the school and the land to the right of it, extending as far as behind the church and the road running alongside the cemetery. Moreover, the Napoleonic cadastral map mentions a few buildings belonging to the château that were still standing at the start of the 19th century. It shows buildings at the end of the Allée des Tilleuls, on the site of the current outbuildings of Château Para, as well as the well, the coping of which has been moved to Saint-Jean d’Angély. This same map also shows, on the site of the school, the entrance to the outer bailey, which consisted of a gatehouse flanked by two towers and adjacent to a prison, a round tower adjoining another square tower, and what could be a dovecote. Minutes drawn up in 1754 and 1763 describe a main building comprising a basement, two habitable storeys and an attic. This building, which housed a chapel, was accessed via a grand staircase of cut stone contained within a square tower. According to the records, it was extended by a lower building housing the kitchens and flanked by two towers. One had a modest diameter and the other, known as the ‘big tower’, was accessed by a spiral staircase. It is thought to have included an additional storey and to have been crowned by a parapet walk on machicolations. In the 11th century, the estate of Brizambourg was part of the powerful barony of Authon. The House of Authon established itself during the Middle Ages as one of the most influential families in Saintonge. Their barony extended over Authon and the neighbouring parishes of Ecoyeux, Brizambourg, Aujac, Ebéon and Migron. In 1189, the estate passed into the hands of Seguin d’Authon; his heirs retained it until the early 14th century. It was a certain Pierre Bragier who commissioned the construction of Brizambourg Castle, beginning in 1487. However, as early as 1488, the Count of Taillebourg ordered him to demolish his fortress on the pretext that he had no right to build a stronghold. Pierre Bragier proved persuasive, for in 1490, Charles de Coétivy, Count of Taillebourg, consented to the castle’s construction continuing, whilst reserving for himself the rights of watch and guard over the parish. Pierre Bragier died shortly afterwards and the castle, a building that was probably unfinished, passed to his widow. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the estate passed into the hands of the Poussard family following the remarriage of Bragier’s widow. Their grandson, who died in 1569, left the estate to his wife, Jeanne de Gontaut de Biron. It was through her that the estate passed to the Gontauts, Dukes of Biron, who owned it until the Revolution, albeit with two interruptions. Just before the Revolution, Brizambourg returned to Charles-Antoine-Armand de Gontaut, whose son was guillotined in 1793. Shortly afterwards, the château was divided up, so that by around 1830 part of the outbuildings, which included the former gatehouse known as the pavilion, fell into the hands of the Epagnou family. In 1843, the Epagnou family sold these buildings to the lawyer Auguste Huteau, who then had the gatehouse converted into a simple two-storey house. It was his nephews, Emma and Alexandre Serton, who sold the entire property to the municipality in 1855 to establish the local boys’ school there. In one of the outbuildings on the property at No. 16 Allée des Tilleuls, known as Château Para, stands the castle well, the coping of which was moved to Saint-Jean d’Angély in 1819. Another remnant of the castle is also located in Saint-Jean d’Angély: a flamboyant Gothic-style door which can be seen in a boundary wall on Rue Raymond Andron, behind the secondary school. This door was likely originally situated on the main building. Behind the church lies a bridge and a small section of the former moat. The bridge was restored by the owner around five years ago.