Ferme au lieu-dit Aleyrangues, Comiac
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ferme au lieu-dit Aleyrangues, Comiac, located in Sousceyrac-en-Quercy (Département 46), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Sousceyrac-en-Quercy, Département 46, Occitanie
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.9652, 1.9884
- Mérimée Reference
- PA46000085
In the heart of the Quercy region, this 16th-century manor house hides behind its sober facade a rare dovecote-porch and a rocaille fireplace worthy of the finest middle-class homes in the Lot.
History
Nestling in the hamlet of Alayrangues, on the heights of the Haut-Quercy region, this monumental farmhouse, listed as a Historic Monument in 2023, is much more than just a farm. Stone by stone, it embodies five centuries of rural and family history, from the first foundations laid in the 16th century to the bourgeois alterations of the 19th century. Its blonde Lot limestone elevation, steeply pitched roof and dovecote-porch make it one of the most coherent and best-preserved buildings in the region. What really sets this place apart from the countless farms in the Quercy region is the legible superimposition of its historical layers. The chamfered doors and chimney stump adorned with balls - a striking echo of the decorations on the nearby Château de Montal - betray an astonishing Renaissance ambition for a rural building. A century and a half later, mason Jacques Maisonnobe completely redesigned the facades and interiors, giving the residence the neoclassical regularity that characterises its exterior appearance today. Visiting the house is like immersing yourself in the daily life of wealthy farming families in the Quercy region: you can make out the living spaces on the first floor, the souillarde leaning against the dwelling, and traces of medieval latrines. The unexpectedly sophisticated fireplace mantel with its curved panels and rocaille motifs is a reminder that, in 18th-century Quercy, the boundary between the peasant and bourgeois worlds was more permeable than you might think. The surrounding setting amplifies the emotion of the place. The hamlet of Alayrangues, already shown on the Cassini map in the 18th century, nestles in a landscape of wooded limestone plateaux and valleys that is characteristic of the north of the Lot. The relative isolation of the site, in a commune whose population has dwindled from 1,400 at the beginning of the 19th century to less than 250 today, lends the whole an atmosphere of rare authenticity and an absolute tranquillity conducive to contemplation.
Architecture
The buildings at Alayrangues consist of a main dwelling flanked by farm outbuildings arranged in a U-shape, as was common in the middle-class farms of the Quercy region. The dwelling, built of local cut limestone, has two storeys topped by a steeply pitched roof, probably covered in slate or flat tiles in keeping with the building traditions of the Haut-Quercy region. The facades, remodelled in 1802, feature a regular arrangement of rectangular windows with sober frames, typical of the provincial neoclassical taste of the Empire. The oldest and most precious elements are concentrated in the interior sections and in certain exterior details. The chamfered jambs of the 16th-century doors, preserved during the 19th-century alterations, bear witness to a renaissance style of ornamental care that is rare on this rural scale. The stone mantelpiece adorned with sculpted balls provides a troubling formal parallel with the decorations on the Château de Montal (Saint-Jean-Lespinasse), a masterpiece of the Quercy Renaissance, suggesting that the stonemasons trained on this seigniorial site may have worked for more modest local clients. Inside, the fireplace mantel with scrolled panels and rocaille motifs, which can be attributed to the work carried out in 1802, bears witness to a strong bourgeois taste and a knowledge of the decorative fashions of the Age of Enlightenment. The dovecote-porch, added in 1867, is the centrepiece of the agricultural composition. Both functional and symbolic - only well-to-do landowners were allowed to keep pigeons under the Ancien Régime, a right that was maintained long after it was abolished by law - it elegantly links the circulation spaces between the entrance courtyard and the production buildings. The second barn-cum-stable, built in 1883 to the rear, completes a rational layout that is representative of Quercy agricultural architecture of the Second Empire.
Related Figures
Famille Alayrangues — famille éponyme attestée dès le début du XVIe siècle, premiers occupants connus du siteJean Bennet (1655) — ancêtre de la lignée Bennet à Alayrangues, époux de Jacquette Alayrangues en 1655Jean Bennet (1777-après 1821) — commanditaire des grands travaux de 1802, maire de Comiac (1815-1821), figure bourgeoise localeJacques Maisonnobe — maçon auteur des remaniements de 1802, artisan clé de l'aspect actuel du logisBaptiste Bennet — cultivateur, chef de famille en 1886, constructeur du pigeonnier-porche (1867) et de la seconde grange-étable (1883)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ferme au lieu-dit Aleyrangues, Comiac located?
Ferme au lieu-dit Aleyrangues, Comiac is located in Sousceyrac-en-Quercy, Département 46 department, Occitanie region, France.
When was Ferme au lieu-dit Aleyrangues, Comiac built?
Ferme au lieu-dit Aleyrangues, Comiac dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ferme au lieu-dit Aleyrangues, Comiac open to visitors?
Ferme au lieu-dit Aleyrangues, Comiac is currently closed to visitors.