Sigournais castle's amazing porch-keep

The keepThe keep | ©GardienAncestral / CC-BY-SA

Mentioned from 1050, the castle was the modest house of a prior, who get the authorization from the owners to settle here! The religious was determinated to stay here for a moment, to the detriment of Sigournais lords.

The solution? To sell their estate! The Beaumont-Bressuire family purchased it in the beginning of the 15th century.

Fell to the Sainte-Flayve family, it was a victory! The prior left the castle in 1462. Immediately the new owners added a surrounding wall flanked by 9 towers.

The particularity of Sigournais? Its 25 metres long, 12 metres wide porch-keep... Equipped with a covered way, the building has a storey.

Except the addition of a main building in the 16th century, the castle was not altered. Several owners succeeded one another, until 1798, where Sigournais was sold.