Château de Rioux

About

The castle of Rioux is located north of the village of Rioux, in Charente-Maritime.

History: The barony of Rioux was confiscated from Didonne's family, and passed into many hands from 1302. The castle was repaired in 1619 by Georges Lemusnier, adviser to the king, treasurer general of France in the generality of Poitiers, who transmitted it to the Guinots (including Étienne Guinot de Monconseil), then in 1716 by Henri de Mirande. The Remont, Ecochard, Delmas and Preys families now own them.

Architecture: A two arched sleeping bridge succeeded the drawbridge. In a rectangular enclosure surrounded by ditches, reinforced with courtines that were equipped with cannons, the house is preceded by a low-yard. It is a building with one floor and narrow openings, on the basement without opening and covered with a roof with two sections of flat tiles. On the courtyard side a polygonal stair tower has been slashed. Two cylindrical towers flank the other facade, one with a round path, the other with a pepper roof and a small square tower with a slate roof leans in the centre of this facade. It has been listed as a historic monument since October 5, 1965.