Manoir des Comtes

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Manoir des Comtes, also known as the Maison Marcillac d'Oradour, was built in the 15th–16th centuries by the Counts of Confolens at 16 rue du Soleil, near the medieval Goire bridge; the northern wing dates from the 17th century. Designed to provide a more comfortable residence than the comital castle, then in ruins, it was nevertheless apparently never lived in by the counts themselves. Its first known owner was a certain Guimard, receiver of the county; sold in the 18th century to Nicolas Marcillac d'Oradour, who gave it its second name, it became communal property in 1793 and then served as a prison for Spanish prisoners, before belonging in 1826 to M. Decauffour, a receiver. Arranged as four wings around a courtyard opening onto the river, the main building, on three levels, retains a rib-vaulted chapel and a façade pierced by a Renaissance doorway; a well and a three-arched gallery adorn the inner courtyard. The façades and roofs are listed (inscrits) as historic monuments. A private property, it is not open to visitors.