The bastides as an emblematic heritage
The bastides are new towns born in the Middle Ages and there are 42 of them in the Lot-et-Garonne. The mission of these towns was first to attract new populations, then to house garrisons, and finally to create an economic center. To found a bastide was initially to proclaim a charter of customs, or more simply to establish a regulation that all the inhabitants had to accept. In this way, local life was organized and the rights and duties of the inhabitants were formalized. The mayor was not a mayor since the function did not yet exist, just like the municipal council, but there was a bayle (or provost) at the head of the bastide who was assisted by jurats (they were then municipal magistrates). His mission was to collect taxes and administer justice. Anyone who wanted to create a bastide had to take the same approach, whether he was king of France or king of England. One chose a place, made an agreement with the owner, and entered into an agreement with the owner. Under the terms of the deed thus drawn up and signed, the joint administration of the new town and the sharing of revenues were declared. These cities were built in the middle of the countryside, on a hill to keep an eye on the possible arrival of enemies. To build them, a checkerboard plan was used, with a square in the center and a market hall erected in the middle of this square; from the four corners of the latter, parallel and perpendicular streets were built. The square is surrounded by "couverts" or arcades with one-story houses. The arcades, beyond their architectural charm, had a very specific role to protect furniture and goods from the sun and bad weather. Note that in the Lot-et-Garonne, there is a bastide that has two birth certificates: born English, Miramont-de-Guyenne became a French bastide by the will of a French king. The bastide is a tourist attraction, and you have to go to the market, the one in Miramont-de-Guyenne on Monday for example, to understand the charm of this village life. A little game for the curious, when you are on the roads of the Lot-et-Garonne, have fun guessing if such or such village has the characteristics of a bastide. There are traps, like in Pujols, which is not a bastide and yet has a central square and a market hall!
A religious architectural heritage: between churches and abbeys
Many directions will tell you about 11th or 12th century churches isolated in the countryside. The explanation lies in the context of this period which was for the Catholic Church a period of evangelization, in addition to having a strong influence on people concerned with religions and based on the sacred writings. This is why churches were built on ancient pagan sites. For the anecdote, the growth of a pine tree on the bell tower of the one in Pompogne can be explained by a miracle.
The buildings of the Benedictine movement of the abbey of Cluny mark the influence of this religious movement in the region. The abbeys of Moirax and Saint-Maurin are the architectural proofs of it and if the last one is fragmented in some elements, that of Moirax, which dominates the Agenais, is exceptional.
At the crossroads of typical architectural buildings
Just like its geography, the Lot-et-Garonne does not have a particular architecture but is rather a concentration of houses with styles determined by the "country" where the communes are located. Between the "échoppe bordelaise", the "maison landaise", the "maison périgourdine" or the emblematic "borde" of the Quercy, we have to deal with a plurality of buildings.
The "échoppe bordelaise", which is located in the lower Garonne valley, the middle valley and the hillsides of the Agenais, is the farmer's dwelling. It is distinct from the residential buildings and the walls are made of limestone, often rendered. The Landes house, logically located from the Landes foothills to the middle Garonne valley, is the dwelling house. Often square in plan, the buildings are built around a wooden supporting structure, with the main façade facing east. The métairie marmandaise is the house with a central barn of the Landes type, found in the plains of the Lot and the Garonne, near Marmande in particular. Square plan, roof going down very low, housing occupying the south side, stable on the north side... The frame remains wooden inside, with raw clay brick fillings. The Limousin and Perigordian house is found in the north of the department, in the Dropt valley, and eastward to Tournon-d'Agenais and the Serres region. Barn, stable and house are contiguous, which gives a construction all in length, of a single volume and on a single level. The borde quercynoise, as its name indicates, is found in the region of the Causses and Quercy in Tournon-d'Agenais in particular. A house in height, narrow on a basement, with on the first floor the premises of exploitation, and, above, the dwelling, with generally an external access by staircase. Concerning the Languedoc house, one can see beautiful examples in the Garonne valley, in the east of the department. Dwelling, shed, barn and hayloft. Rectangular and elongated plan, two-sloped roof; the dovecote is annexed to the main building. The masonry is made of mud bricks or baked bricks that form a base for beds of stones or pebbles. The house with stacked wooden beams is built on the border of the Lot-et-Garonne, in a very limited area between Castillonnès and Villeréal, on the site of old forests. These constructions were probably the work of woodcutters. On a base of masonry, or stone blocks, was raised a system of stacked beams crossed at the corners. The framework is rudimentary, without an assembled system, and the wood used is oak or chestnut, with a tile roof and probably wooden shingles originally.
Architecture by the country's storytellers
The architectural heritage of the Lot-et-Garonne is rich, that goes without saying, but this magnificent heritage would not be able to live without men of hands to rehabilitate, conserve and refresh them and men of words to make them (re)live in people's imagination. The storytellers of the country are these men of words. They are scattered all over the department and it is their passion that animates them, telling the story of the territory where they live, but in the way of the transmitters of memory that they are, by going off the beaten track. This network of enthusiasts now has more than 45 members in Lot-et-Garonne. The Raconteur de Pays is not a professional guide but rather your friend who will tell you the secrets of his region. Romanesque churches, Garonne canal, bastides, mills... They will have no more secrets for you. One will tell you about the moondial on the façade of the Tournon d'Agenais belfry, explaining the mechanism behind it, while another in Moirax will take pleasure in showing you the history and architecture of these charming buildings. You will also be able to understand the architectural history of an entire village, as in Castelmoron-sur-Lot, where this enthusiast will tell you about buildings such as the neo-gothic church, the Protestant temple, the market hall, the modern bridge and the very special town hall. If mills and their characteristics are your hobby, head for Barbaste to quench your thirst for knowledge with one of them, who will not fail to tell you about the churches and chapels, fountains, wash houses, fortified houses... hidden by nature. The local storytellers are therefore a heritage asset in their own right, essential to Lot-et-Garonne, if only because they tell the story of the buildings by the sheer force of their communicative and transmitting passion. These men and women are the Lot-et-Garonne, and above all they are the ones who preserve its architectural memory by telling the story and contextualizing this or that building in its time.
The charms of historic dovecotes
There are more than 6,000 of them in the Lot-et-Garonne. But then why the pigeon house? The question is often answered by the history of man, the land and the animals. Indeed, the pigeon was sought after for the pigeon-hole, a much more delicate word to speak of the natural rejects of the bird. This pigeon has a strong power of fertilization of the ground with its high rate of nitrogen and other acid. So man started to build these buildings with nests called boulins to attract the pigeons. The more land you had, the more bolls you had. Therefore, these were an external sign of wealth. We can therefore notice some pigeon houses built on the same level as the house, while others, more imposing, are independent of the main building. The pigeon was a food appreciated by the men but also by the rats which penetrated in the buildings made a real carnage. Therefore, the walls were built without any roughness to prevent rodents from entering the building, and skylights were installed near the top to allow the birds to enter. The characteristic architecture of the dovecote is today a mark of charm and character in the field of housing and the singularity of the properties is considered in particular thanks to the dovecote. If you go to Allemans-du-Dropt, don't miss the chance to see one of the most beautiful pigeon houses in the department, built in the garden of a property and dating from the 17th century. The little anecdote tells that during alliances between nobles, some exaggerated their number of boulins as a mark of wealth and this is how the expression "to be pigeonholed" was born. Rather than being pigeonholed, we recommend enjoying a quiet night in one of the many pigeon houses that have been rehabilitated into superb gîtes.
