The château or castle of Bonaguil began construction in the 13th century, then it was entirely transformed at the end of the 15th century and  the beginning of the 16th century  by Baron Bérenger de Roquefeuil who added to it all the defensive improvements of the late Middle Ages.

It incorporated the latest improvements in defence by means of artillery both to use it and to guard against it: imposing barbican covering access to the castle, gun-ports by the dozen both in the six towers and in the curtain walls, casemated (“vaulted”) firing chambers sheltered from enemy cannonballs and allowing low and grazing shots, a “ sparrow  ” blockhouse prohibiting all traffic at the bottom of the great ditch, terraces of artillery staged at the foot of the body of the place which constitute as many successive enclosures to be forced, development for defensive purposes of a natural cave located under the rocky outcrop.

When it was completed around 1510, however, it appeared obsolete. Indeed, at this time of the beginning of the Renaissance, the great noble families as well as the king and his relatives began to build the first castles of the Loire and, throughout the kingdom, many medieval fortresses of the small and medium aristocracy, even if they retained some defensive features, are gradually transformed into pleasure residences by demolishing part of the flanking towers and the curtain walls in order to open them on the light and the countryside.

The Château de Bonaguil is today in a good state of conservation. It never had to undergo an attack and was inhabited until the Revolution.

• Château de Bonaguil - 47500 - Saint-Front-sur-Lemance - http://www.chateau-bonaguil.com/