Ancien château de Bridiers

English translation

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History

The tower is an example of 13th-century military architecture. The vicomté of Bridiers was under the suzerainty of the Poitevin overlord. By its location, on the borders of the Limousin region, at the crossroads of the Gallic road from Lyon to Saintes, and the Roman road from Bordeaux to Bourges, the castle experienced numerous military operations. In 1177, it was besieged and taken by Henry II of England. In 1356, the band of the Captal de Buch, an ally of the English, seized it. Of the imposing medieval castle there remain outlines, a section of wall and the keep intact in its main structure. The whole had the form of a pentagon. In addition to the keep, four round towers flanked the salient angles of the curtain walls. The castle entrance gave access to an inner courtyard. In 1202, the tower collapsed. The present keep was built after this collapse. Circular in form, it was erected in the 13th century and comprised four storeys. Entry was by a pointed arch doorway on the first floor, by means of a drawbridge which, when lowered, came to rest on a stone staircase isolated in the courtyard. From the first to the third storey, the rooms communicated by a spiral staircase fitted within the thickness of the walls. A straight staircase, also within the thickness of the wall, allows access from the ground floor to the first storey. The small tower situated beside the keep preserved, around 1860, traces of wall painting which indicated the location of the castle's chapel.