En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de Thorrenc overlooks the village of Thorrenc, in the Ardèche. The barony of Thorrenc has been recorded since 1025. The rectangular keep, the oldest part of the building, is said to have been built around 1360 by Cardinal de Colombier, then lord of the place; it retains only a few narrow openings. A round tower, pierced with horizontal loopholes and fitted with oubliettes, was added in the 15th century to the south-east of the complex; a third tower was built in the early 16th century. A Renaissance-style residential wing was later set against the keep, complemented by buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries. After the French Revolution, the château belonged successively to the Desfrançais de l'Olme, Bechetoille, Marthoret, Mignot and then Lapize de Sallée families. Inhabited until around 1850–1860, it then fell into ruin until the mid-20th century, before being restored after 1964; it was notably occupied by the opera singer Philippe Deyldi, and was then sold again in 2001. Registered as a historic monument (inscrit) on 28 December 1950 under the name « Vieux château (restes) » (old castle, remains), the building remains a private residence that cannot be visited, but it can be viewed from the outside, in particular from a path leading off to the right of the cemetery.
