Château de Lagrange-Monrepos

English translation

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History

According to tradition, a castle built by Henri I of Albret, grandfather of Henri IV, for his mistress Marianne Alespée whose family remained its owner until the beginning of the 17th century. A vast courtyard is enclosed and bordered by the dwelling and outbuildings. The primitive castle is constituted by a large rectangular main dwelling, flanked on its north façade by two towers. A large round tower was built four metres from the south façade, to which it is linked by a high wall pierced by a door framed by pilasters bearing a triangular pediment. This door originally gave access to a small disappeared square courtyard. The mullioned windows are surmounted by a triangular pediment and are ornamented with a convex elliptical ovolo presented in a cartouche. The entrance door of the castle presents an entablature with metopes and triglyphs. The great hall of the first storey retains a polychrome monumental fireplace and paintings. Paintings also survive in the small oratory of the north-west tower. On the ground floor, a great hall retains a ceiling with exposed joists, supported by two main beams whose faces are painted with life-size figures in recumbent pose. Near the castle, a dovecote has retained the entirety of its revolving ladder system. To the east of the courtyard are found the remains of a monumental gateway and outbuildings built in the 19th century.