#141 Château de Thoury
Saint-Pourçain-sur-Besbre, Allier, France
12th or 13th century with major changes in 15th century
This
is NOT an official Lego site
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The first known
reference to Thoury is a reference in the 1164 bull of Pope Alexander
III citing the knight Rodolphe de Thoury for his donation to the Abbey
of Sept-Fons. He built a fortification in the 12th century to monitor
(and presumably tax) traffic on the River Besbre, and was granted the
title of Lord of Thoury. He was an early participant in the Crusade
Bourbonnais. His most famous descendent was Goussaut de Thoury, born
about 1337. Goussaut not only participated actively in the Hundred Years
War but also several local wars, with others defeating Lord Hugues de
Bouquetraud, and imprisoning his enemy Renaud de La Motte in the
castle. The castle remained the property of the Lords of
Thoury-sur-Besbre.
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At the beginning of
the 15th century Thoury passed to Jean de l'Espinasse by his marriage to
Guicharde de Thoury, and many of the current changes were then made to the
castle. Almost a century later his descendent, also Jean de l'Espinasse,
sold the château to Charles Sorel, Lord of Saint-Gérand-de-Vaux (nephew
of Agnes Sorel, the mistress of King Charles VII). The castle passed by
marriage to Bertrand de Rollat in 1542. Ownership changed several
more times in the next two hundred years, until the castle was purchased in
1751 by Clément Conny. His family was ennobled in 1767 and
acquired the rank of Vicomte in 1816 by Louis XVIII - due to the loyalty
of Félix de Conny to the monarchy . Thoury is owned by the same
family today, and is open for tours some afternoons.
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I've found no
plan for
this castle |
Photos
of the Lego Model
under construction in
October 2013 |
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The castle is
laid out on
September 30. |
Actual
construction starts
the next day. |
By October 3, the
courtyard
is completed
using lots of
wedge plates. |
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As construction of the
curtain and
towers
continues the next day... |
...the wedge
plate
edges
disappear under
the 5-wide enceinte. |
I've left only one
postern door
in my medieval version of the castle.
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On October 7 towers have
risen...
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...and the renaissance
parapets...
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...sport
machicolations with arrowslits -
a much more "embattled" appearance. |
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By October 11
the functional and
decorative gatehouse is done. |
The
crenellated wallwalk is
complete. |
Work must just be
completed on
the two main towers which... |
...make the castle both
formidable
and habitable. See more below! |
Photos
of the Lego Model
Built
October 2013 |
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We start our
walk around the
castle at the gatehouse. |
The
view from the
SSE. |
The ESE
view gives any excellent
view of the fortification. |
The east view
highlights the
residential tower... |
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...as does
the view from the north. |
The NNW view details the
defensive
potential of Château de Thoury. |
The old keep is also
formidable...
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...as well as
comfortable.
And we've completed our
circumnavigation of the castle! |
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Here are four views
inside
the courtyard. |
The old keep. |
The renaissance wallwalk.
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The residential tower
with spiral staircase.
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Build
Your Own
Do to the
unusual shape of the castle, for the first time in my memory I drew no
elevations. |
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| Lego Plan |
Other
Château de Thoury pages (all in French). The third reference is an interesting
article dated June 2012 about the then 86 year old current owner, Vicomte Jehan
Conny:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Thoury
http://www.valdebesbre.com/Pages/Tourisme%20et%20loisirs/Chateaux/Thoury.htm
http://www.lamontagne.fr/auvergne/actualite/departement/allier/moulins/2012/08/06/chateau-fort-dexception-thoury-appartient-a-la-famille-conny-depuis-1751_1238043.html
Return to the
main castle
page.
Castles created by
Robert
Carney
Page
created and maintained by Robert Carney
