Map of La-Tour-St-Austrille
The hundred Years' War was a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 between the Kings of France and the kings of England for control of France.
Probably during the Hundred Years’ War, the towers on the mottes were destroyed and never rebuilt. The priory fell into ruin.
Of the reconstruction that followed this period, there are several 15th century remains in the village
N°1 Church of Saint Michel
Mentioned for the first time in 1212 as the chapel of Saint Michel, this church would have become much more impressive by 1645, when it was described in the terrier of the priory, as “a large parish church with pillars...”
It was abandoned after the Revolution, and the present church was rebuilt on a smaller scale by the inhabitants of La Tour in the late 19th century.
N°2 Cross
The bottom part of the cross is the stone cover of a roman funerart urn. It is topped by a capital and a column which were originally from the priory. The cross came from the former cemetery. It is a beautiful example of a reuse of stones from different periods.
N° 3 et 4 The lake and mill belonging to the Priory of La Tour Saint Austrille
The monks of the Priory were probably responsible for creating the present lake and mill.
The former Roman lake was abandoned and its dam recreated here in the 15th century – likewise the toll barrier. The water level was lower than today. The dam was raised in 1807.
The mill, created at the same time, was rebuilt several times.
In 1645, the lake and mill are described in the terrier of the Priory of La Tour-St-Austrille.
A capital from a column in the priory chapel was reused in the wall of the mill. The visible sides represent the Tree of Temptation in the Garden of Eden and a female creature.
N°10 Former château of La Tour
This building, dating back over 500 years, is largely built of stones cut in the Roman style, taken probably from the ruins of the ancient Villa Caceria in the same spot. Near the entrance the columns are of the same origin.
In 1520, in the terrier of the seigneurie of La Tour-Saint-Austrille, it is called the “hostel [house] de Marie Faure”. It is mentioned several times, as a house of the nobility, residence of the procureur of the seigneurie of La Tour, then of a family of lawyers at Jarnages.
N° 14 Grange d’Orgnat or Tithe Barn
Under the feudal system, the tithe was a tenth of the yearly produce of the land, which was payable by parishioners – originally to the parish church, to support it and its clergyman.
The seigneur of Orgnat was joint-collector of the tax with the Prior of La Tour. He levied the tithe in kind from the inhabitants of the commune and nearby villages, stored the grain in the barn and kept a third for himself.
N° 16 Maison Gaschon, a ploughman’s house in 1520
In 1520, the house, whose description has not changed over the years, was inhabited by Jehan Gaschon (known as de Beaulne), by his brother Francis, and by his nephews and nieces – the children of his brothers Jehan and Antoine Gaschon.
Thanks to family records, we know that the house has stayed in the same family until the present day, without any modification to the original design. In the 19th century most inhabitants of the village lived in dwellings like this
N° 7 Priory of La Tour-St-Austrille and the Chapel of St. Austrille
The small monastery, later priory, founded here by Droctricus in 958 and given by him to the bishop of Limoges, had a troubled existence as a religious institution.
On 6 Nov 1095, Umbauld, Bishop of Limoges, handed it over to the powerful Abbey of Déols in the Berry and in 1115 a Bull of Pope Pascal II confirmed this donation. In 1212, a Bull of Pope Innocent III confirmed to the abbey of Déols the possession of the church of the clerics of St Austrille, the chapel of St Michel at La Tour (which later became St Michel’s church) and the church of St Dizier.
Quickly abandoned by the monks, the priory existed in name only until the Revolution, as a recipient of tithes and the products of sharecropping.
The chapel of Saint Austrille, built in the first half of the 11th century, disappeared between the 17th and 19th centuries. Look out for the remains of the capitals of columns from the building that have been reused in various parts of the village including the mill, the Louvraude barn and the cemetery.
N° 11 Roman road and Roman dam across the lake
The ancient road through the village, clearly visible on the early 19th century cadastre Napoléon (similar to a tithe map), still bears the name “Charrière de Montluçon”. Initially of Roman origin and then medieval, it passed along the bottom of the valley, over what would become the dam of the lake. It was the existence of this road and thus the opportunity to levy tolls on travellers and goods that led to the erection of the associated mottes.
N°15 Seigneurial Court
All seigneurs of la Tour-St-Austrille held the right of justice over their peasants. The seigneurial court, where the lords' lawyers exercised justice on their behalf, was still functioning in this building in 1791.
The tribunal was built during the late 15th century reconstruction of the village following the devastations of the Black Death and the end of the Hundred Years' War.