Architecture and History of chateau Saveilles in Charente
Chateau Saveilles: a blend of medieval fortress and Renaissance style
On the borders of Charente, Charente-Maritime and Deux-Sèvres, halfway between Niort and Angoulême, lies the commune of Paizay-Naudouin, where Saveilles Castle has
stood since the 14th century. The castle harmoniously combines the features of a fortified castle with those of a Renaissance residence.
Listed in the Supplementary Inventory of Historic Monuments (ISMH) by a prefectural decree of 8 November 2005, which repealed a previous decree of 1967, Saveilles takes the form of a square
complex, surrounded by vast moats filled with water and supported by solid walls. Access to the castle is now via two fixed stone bridges, which, since the Revolution, have replaced the
drawbridge to the south and the two-arched swing bridge to the north, which once ensured the protection of this imposing fortress.
To the east and south, two main buildings arranged at right angles extend outwards, each flanked at its ends by an imposing defensive tower: the prison tower,
complete with its embrasures, is situated to the north, whilst the large tower, equipped with loopholes, arrow slits and machicolations, stands to the south. The north and west sides of the
square enclose an inner courtyard, in the centre of which stands a large well.
The entrance courtyard is flanked by a long building serving as outbuildings, as well as corner towers.
Architectural styles from the 14th, 16th and 19th centuries blend harmoniously under the Charente sun.
Renaissance sculptures and decorations
Despite the ravages of the French Revolution and the passage of time, the castle retains a wealth of sculptures, mullioned dormer windows adorned with mythological themes, as well as arrow slits, arrow loopholes and machicolations. Its 19th-century chapel is dedicated to Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows.
Today, amongst the remains of this Renaissance castle, four of the ten dormer windows that originally lit the attic remain, adorned with mythological motifs. One can also admire two small, finely
carved twin windows to the left of the entrance door, as well as a carved chimney stack rising above the main building to the east. The statuette of Hercules holding his club is visible on the
north gable, whilst the carved top of a dormer window, which once lit the courtroom above the now-vanished entrance pavilion, overlooks the garden postern.
In the east wall of the chapel, built in the 19th century, a carved stone, elegantly adorned with ‘putti’, has been incorporated. In the centre of this stone are the joined coats of arms of René de La Rochefaton, a descendant of the castle’s builders, and his wife, Sébastienne Taveau, who were married before 1519.
The origins of Chateau Saveilles
The Seigneury of Saveilles predates the construction of the castle.
The first known mention of this name appears in the deed of foundation of the Priory of Notre-Dame de Château-Larcher, located near Vivonne, south of Poitiers. This deed, drawn up by EBBON,
referred to as Count of Poitou and Duke of Guyenne, son of Adelaide of France, herself the daughter of King Louis the Stammerer, together with his wife Ode and their son Achard, dates from the
year 969 (according to the Cartulary of Saint-Cyprien de Poitiers).
Families having left their mark
Since the twelfth century, and the erection of the castle by Thibault de La Rochefaton in the late fifteenth century , the masters of the place have succeeded until today, by way of family inheritance.
The first, the Barrier and Montalembert possessed the land, land that fell within the Marquisate of Ruffec. In the early sixteenth century, their descendents, La Rochefaton, built the castle as we know it. Among the masters of this noble house, there are the marshals de Caumont La Force, then de Turenne, at the time when the R.P.R. (Alleged Reformed Religion) of Saveilles was an important place of the Reformation in Angoumois.
The Touchimbert, then Bourdeille received Saveilles by prerogative, before passing to Disnematin de Salle, then to Ligondès, and finally to Mas Latrie today.
