Montespieu Castle

History of the castle

Built on basis, going up in XIIe century but entirely rebuilt in XVIe century, altered with XVIIe then restored in 1900, the castle of Montespieu is a vast rectangle showing the characteristics of a néo-medieval fortress and comprises seven turns, three with the principal body and the four others with the houses. The seigniory of Montespieu belonged at the origin with the knights of Caudière, attested from the very start of XIIIe century then, at the end of the next century passed to the Hue family or from Hugues. It is known thereafter that in the neighbourhoods of 1508, the primitive castle, badly located by the documents and distant of the current castle of about a mile was in ruins. The current castle was built in the neighbourhoods of 1510 per Pierre III of Huc and its sons increased the field, then the seigniory passed by alliance to Padiès. Following this marriage a lawsuit occurred which with the advantage of giving us a faithful description of the state of the castle in 1554. Thereafter, the castle passed to Toulouse-Lautrec, baron de Montfa. In 1570, Montespieu was plundered and set fire to by the army of the king. January 23, 1590, the widow of Jean de Nadal, lord of Lacrouzette, whose Viscount and baron de Montfa had married two girl, Renee and Anne, was assassinated in Montespieu with one of his daughters and a maidservant by one of his servants. July 19, 1591, there was a scuffle between the Viscount and the baron de Montfa and the inhabitants of Labruguière who suspected Toulouse-Lautrec of belonging to the Line. Montmorency made imprison the two lords a short moment but it released them soon and the Viscount withdrew himself in Montespieu. In this turbid context of larval war, the incidents of this type were current currency. In January of the following year, a soldier of Labruguière having been maltreated by the Viscount of Montfa, obtained an order of Montmorency, took a small troop and went to take by storm the castle of Montespieu. However, the Viscount could escape to him. Lastly, in this same year 1592, Montespieu again was plundered and set fire to. May 23, 1600, Montespieu was acquired by Abel of Known Thereafter, an act on September 17, 1664 indicates repairs to be carried out with the castle as well as a detailed description of the masonry: the ditches are indicated, as well as the pigeon one and the entry is announced to raising. Juice succeeded Scorbiac, then, in 1680 Antoine of Judge Montespieu by pre-emption acquired. The Revolution involved in Montespieu some damage since the crenels were levelled, Paul de Juge undertook to restore the castle at the end of last century. And it was the Nénot architect who in 1896 undertook this vast building site.