Le Château de la Brossardière

This former residence seems to have originated from the name La Cossonière, but it took on the name La Brossardière after passing into the hands of the Brassard family in 1425. This noble fiefdom, which belonged to the Château de Taillebourg, was owned in 1506 by Isabeau de Moussy, widow of Hélie Brassard. In the 16th century, the estate passed to the Desmontils family, then to the Fauberts, following the marriage of Jeanne Desmontils to Guichart Faubert, Lord of La Vergne. Following the death of their eldest son, Jacques, the residence became the property of Suzanne Lebault in the 17th century. It was probably this lady who had the main building rebuilt as it stands today. The estate was sold in 1743 by Suzanne Lebault's grandson to a certain Louis-Clément de Sainte-Hermine, who added La Brossardière to his land in Coulonge. The residence was then seized after the last lord of Coulonge, Louis-René de Sainte-Hermine, emigrated, and was auctioned off in Year II (1793-1794) to Nicolas-Thomas Foucaud. At the beginning of the 19th century, in 1806, Foucaud sold the residence to Joseph-Louis Latour of Rochefort. Located on a hill overlooking the Charente River, the residence has changed little since 1719, when it was described as "a basty main building with a mansard roof and a bastion on the south side...". Rebuilt during the reign of Louis XIV, probably in the second half of the 17th century, the main building is a rectangular two-storey structure with irregularly arranged windows. Above the left-hand door are two gargoyles, each with a human head and a bird's body. Its Mansard roof, covered with slate and hollow tiles, is pierced by dormer windows with curved pediments decorated with balls, except for the central one, which has lost its ball. This building is preceded by a large terrace with balusters and a double spiral staircase. Remains of earlier constructions can still be seen: a watchtower and an arched window with a protruding window sill on the rear façade, a vaulted cellar with ribbed vaults and a spiral staircase inside the house. It currently houses guest rooms.