From 1542 until today
History of Château de Pazayac
1542
In 1539 Hugues de Saint-Chamans acquired the land in Pazayac, after trading it in for other lands closeby. Around 1542 Château de Pazayac was built.
After his death, he passed the lands and the income from the tenants to his wife. Both the château and lands stayed in the family by passing it on like this.
The titles of Hugues de Saint-Chamans: Coseigneur and baron of St Chamans, seigneur of le Peschier and Pazayac, knight in the King's Order, and knight in the order of Saint-Michel.
1789
A little something called 'The French Revolution' happened. And like most noble families and castles owned by nobility, the family de Saint-Chamans and Château de Pazayac weren't spared.
We are not sure what exactly happened to them. The entire de Saint-Chamans family was very large, with several branches throughout France.
Some of the family fled to Algeria or Prussia, and some may have ended up under the guillotine, like so many in the Terror.
From the timeline, we estimate that the château stood empty for nearly two decades after the Revolution.
1805
The château was bought by Jacques Soustre de Lagautherie and Juliette Soustre de Lagautherie - de la Franconnie.
There is not much found about them, so we don't know whether they lived here in Pazayac or stayed in their hometown of Charrail, 1,5 hours away. (Nowadays at least, that must have been a lot more in 1805)
Château de Pazayac and its outbuildings on a map of the early 1800s.
« Archives départementales de la Dordogne; Cote: 3 P 3 3608 »
1818
Le comte de Maussac became the seigneur of Château de Pazayac. He had been stationed abroad and obtained the château upon his return.
Throughout the count's life before Pazayac, he climbed the ladders of the army. He was an officer of the Royal Guard, a fairly high division within the army.
He is the count of Maussac, seigneur of Pazayac and Saint-Cyr, Officer in the King's Guard and godson of King Louis XVIII.
1830
The count of Maussac took his army-ways with him when he moved to Pazayac. The population did not like that, and on 30 July 1830 took up their pitchforks and set out to burn the château to the ground.
Two fun facts about this revolt:
- In 1896 Eugène Leroy wrote a book called 'Jacquou le Croquant', which is said to be inspired by the revolt that happened here.
In 1969 and in 2007 movies have been made based on this book.
- We read that the chateau was 'almost burned to the ground'. When we asked around in our community how come it didn't, we heard the most French thing we could have hoped for!
The rebels came to the château and found out the Count wasn't home. So instead of burning down the castle, they broke open his cellars and feasted on his food and drink!
1911
After the death of le comte de Maussac, the château fell into ruin once more. The earliest pictures we can find online show the castle completely overgrown with ivy.
Around 1900 it was bought by the family de Pradel de Lamaze, a notary from Brive.
This family has added a lot of new features to the château. We thank them each time we sit on the big balcony out front, for the marvelous idea to add it. They also added a balcony on the backside, renovated several rooms, added glass-in-led windows, and provided the sculpture on the front wall with their emblem and the year 1911.
Not much later tragedy struck the family when they lost their two sons in World War I.
1956
Around 1950 family de Lamaze does not live in the château anymore, and they rent it out to family Delage. A few years later, the Delages get the option to buy it and do so.
The family lives here, two little boys grow up in the castle, the parents live here until their days on earth are over.
In 2012 madame Delage moves into a home for the elderly and the château stands uninhabited again. The remaining family only use the château as a holiday home for a few weeks per year.
After the passing of madame Delage her eldest son inherits the château. Both his children live too far away to take up residence in the château and in 2018 they decide to sell the château.
2021
In January a Dutch family is in the Dordogne in their search for a new place to live. They've seen Château de Pazayac online and find it very charming, so they decide to drive by.
It proves to be magical upon closer inspection and three weeks later the deal is done. In March they travel to Bordeaux to sign the papers, in May they move to France, and on June 16th 2021 they get the keys to Château de Pazayac.
We hope the future brings a lot of good things for the château, and that one day, this page will read the handing over of the château to our kids, and their kids, and so on.