HISTORY OF DOMAINE DE MONTBOULARD

OVERVIEW

To the east of the old village of Soyaux, and south of the village of Antornac, Domaine de Montboulard is a square of buildings around a courtyard with the main house, its ancient barn and outbuildings on both sides. The architecture was extensively redesigned in the 19th century and renovated in the 20th century, but the complex retains its 17th-century character. 

16th - 17th CENTURY

In 1599, Jean LEVEILH was lord of Montboulard.


In 1611 exchanges were made with other inhabitants of the parish residing in the village of “Lion”. The royal notary of Angoulême draws up the deeds.


In 1637 François de LA QUINTINIE, a lawyer at the presidial of Angoulême, owned the house and was a keep of Montboulard.


At the end of the 17th century, the property was ceded to Gilles DELAMARRE, former master of the Bishop of Angoulême Hotel.

an old house with a tiled roof is sitting in the middle of a field .
a blue car is parked in front of a building with a red roof .
a black and white photo of a house with a tree in front of it .
a large house with a lot of windows and shutters

18th CENTURY

Antoine DELAMARRE, Gilles' son, inherited the estate from his parents. Despite his duties as a priest, in 1705 he declared that he was "asserting the meta-link" so as not to be included in the role of taxes. At the request of the tax collector, the residents of Soyaux protested. 


In 1738, before his death he appointed his cousins BOURDIN as heirs. When DELAMARRE died in Montboulard in 1738, an inventory of his furniture was made at the request of Jean BOURDIN and Jean FAUNIE, Sieur du Plessis and Marie BOURDIN who are the heirs.


The inventory will last one week. The house is large, walnut furniture is plentiful and in good condition for the most part, linen, or hemp linen is plentiful. The utensils: dishes, forks, etc. are made of tin. Four oxen, a horse, young pigs and other animals are listed in the inventory. The backyard and the pigeon loft are home to many birds.


In 1739, Louis BOURDIN, a merchant and former consular judge in Angoulême, moved with his family to Montboulard. His son, Pierre BOURDIN, advisor to the King at the Senechaussée and presidial seat of Angoumois, had appropriated in 1759, two hundred hectares of thickets and thatches at the place called "brandes of Soyaux" and where the peasants had traditionally been entitled to vain grazing. The result was long legal conflicts between the inhabitants of Soyaux and master BOURDIN. The troubles of the Revolution put an end to this imbroglio, and the BOURDIN be retained the owners of their land and the dwelling of Montboulard. 


The BOURDIN family must also own the Geoffreterie (now Jauffertie) land, which was later sold to the BLANLOEIL family. These vast oak woods are preserved by the BOURDIN family. Two wells that ran out of water in the summer fed animals and people, before running water was installed.


As early as 1739, Louis BOURDIN had problems with his neighbors in the village of Antornac. We need to establish an observation of the damage done by the oxen in his meadows.


Pierre BOURDIN succeeds his father. Because of his office as Honorary Advisor at the Presidial, he wants to be tax-free. On October 17, 1751, all the inhabitants of Soyaux protested.

1930's - 1940's

The BOURDINs had contract farmers and maids who worked the land for the benefit of their mitres and maintained the house and its outbuildings. During the war 1939 – 1945, the bourgeois house was registered for refugees. From that time on, only farmers occupied Montboulard, which went into decline.


After the war, the master's house eventually fell into disrepair. Only the contract farmer’s house and the farm premises were regularly maintained by the occupant of the premises.

1980's

In 1982 Mr. MADIGOUT and Ms. BLANCHON bought Montboulard. After three years of work, the place opens to the public. Rural cottages, rooms and guest tables, the owners have preferred the conviviality aspect of the hotel. “My wish,” says MADIGOUT to The Charente Libre, “is to create a good atmosphere. People, you have to create a dream.”

2000's - 2020's

In 2001, Héloïse CHAMPIERRE de Villeneuve and Arnaud de GARCIGNIES bought the property. In May 2017 Héloïse and her husband Emmanuel BARBET sold Montboulard to John HEDGES and Marc SOTKIEWICZ of the United States, the current owners. Today, Montboulard welcomes a wide variety of guests in its five rooms and nine cottages, continuing the traditions of the summer forty years ago.

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