Over 600 years of history in the heart of the Périgord Vert
“What is the history of the château?” This question has been asked thousands of times over the years. Let us tell you the fascinating epic of this jewel of the Périgord, from its medieval origins to its modern renaissance. The writer Raphaël GRANGIER, who wrote 3 books partly set at Le Verdoyer and who helped us organize the Book Fair for several years in July, managed to reconstruct the first centuries of the château’s occupation and provided us with this lovely story:
A bit of history…
Ah, the Château le Verdoyer campsite. A flowery, pleasant setting where it’s delightful to rest your body and unpack your bags for a while. But do you know its history? No…
Then let us tell you about it in a few words.
The Medieval Origins (1385-1450)
To do so, you must close your eyes and step back with us to 1385. The Périgord is wooded and sparsely populated, and we are just after the second phase of the Hundred Years’ War, at the very moment Charles V launches his reconquest of France.
Finances are at their lowest, but the monarchy remains. Hay-covered carts, pulled by a few oxen, travel the dilapidated paths between Saint Pardoux La Rivière and Nontron.
A little further away lies the Connezac estate. Hélie de Pindray was born that very year and, as a teenager, became a squire at the château. His reputation as an excellent horseman honored him, and the Lord of Connezac agreed to celebrate his wedding to the commoner Marguerite de Bertin. The monarchy’s finances filled up again, while our young citizens, ennobled by the Lord, gave birth to a young girl in 1430, whom they named Jeanne.
The Lord of Connezac offered his first squire a longère (long farmhouse) and a plot of land extending from Mazerat to Saint Saud, up to the edge of the Nontron parish. This longère became a hunting lodge, and the son of the nobleman Camain, Joseph, now Lord of la Prade, went there to hunt.
His unexpected visit became the ideal meeting point for Jeanne’s parents, and she was eventually married to him.
To mark the union, the first version of the château was then erected. A medieval structure featuring loopholes and defensive towers, with one floor and a single continuous building, it was completed around 1450 with the birth of their son, Bertrand (the 1st of his name).
The Rise of the Camain Family (1450-1540)
The acquisition of the lands and the estate had indeed been made through a nobleman’s gift, but recognition had not yet been granted, let alone the title. Thus, Bertrand had to wait 25 years after the death of the Dauphin Pastoureau for his testament to be recognized by an assembly of the town of Nontron, ensuring his name was registered as ‘Noble’ in his will and the title granted to him.
Joseph passed the château and noble title to his only son, who, once married, had two sons and a daughter, Léonarde. The epidemic wave of the plague finished crossing France, and two of his children did not survive. The most resilient of the siblings, Jean, became a councilor at the Bordeaux Parliament and took the inheritance of the lands and the château, visiting only for hunting until his marriage to Françoise de Laborie.
A great celebration was held where the lords of Nontron, priests, abbots, and the Lord of Saint Pardoux were invited. Jean Camain then decided to stay on his lands more often, especially as the trips to Bordeaux were exhausting. Françoise was attractive, not very educated, but very maternal. Jean had five children with her—each one louder than the last, and one of them, born barely two years after their union, took his grandfather’s name, Bertrand.
The Conflict of Inheritance
Of the lineage, Bertrand (the 2nd of his name) also joined the Parliament, like his father, while Thibault, born 8 years after him, distinguished himself by becoming a criminal lieutenant in Brive.
As the two brothers were the only ones in the family to invest in the nobility, they split their father Jean’s inheritance in 1540, right under the nose of François (who died 9 years after Bertrand) and the two sisters, Léonarde and Marie, who could not carry on the name anyway. The lands and the château were held in shared use between the two brothers… For the moment, because one of them did not see it that way… Bertrand met the Bordeaux elite and invited them to his lands, where feasts, musical evenings, and entertainment were provided at his expense, squandering his father’s inheritance a little more each night.
The Golden Age and the Renaissance Splendor (1552-1600)
He married Jeanne de Maucamp in 1552, a daughter of a Bordeaux nobleman, and fathered not two, nor three or four, but nine children. The last one cost the poor mother her life at birth. Among this whole lineage of young Camains, the eldest—born at his parents’ wedding and named Thibaud in honor of his uncle—married a certain Eleonore Eyquem de Montaigne, sister of the famous Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, who for nearly thirty years took advantage of this union to frequent the château and bring his admirers to Verdoyer.
The Renaissance Transformations (1545-1600)
As for Thibaud—the uncle this time—he married Bonne de Pourtenc, who died shortly after from an illness. Remarrying in 1545 to Lucrèce d’Alby, she pushed him to restore the château’s prestige. Lucrèce bore him two sons, one of whom remained a bachelor: Pierre Camain. Her other son, François, shared Thibault’s inheritance.
After Thibault’s death, Lucrèce pushed her son François into the nobility, encouraged him to impress his small court, married him to Marie du Pescher, and in honor of his wedding, convinced him to modify the château into a more Renaissance style and add a floor.
During the construction, the southwest tower caught fire, and the blaze was only brought under control after damaging the crenelated tower. Lucrèce, losing her mind, blamed the fire on the other branch of the family, who saw the building’s modification as a waste of money and, above all, a hindrance to their partying. With the work nearly finished, the whole family was reunited, but the rivalries between the two Camain branches ensured the meal ended in threats.
The Cursed Fireplace Plate
The brothers and sisters of the other Camain lineage—Etienne, Marguerite, Marie, Catherine, Jeanne, and Thibaud (Eleonore’s husband)—gave a fireplace plate to François, in which Lucrèce saw only threats as it represented alchemical symbols. No one knew if she was right or wrong, but Lucrèce passed away shortly after from poisoning (septicemia).
The Decline of the Camain Dynasty (1600-1691)
The two lineages never reconciled after that meal. François and Marie du Pescher had only one son: Bertrand, named in honor of his grandfather. He married Louise Mallet and fathered two sons: Jean and Thibault. The inheritance was given to the eldest, Thibault, who married a young woman of whom no trace has been found to date. Their only son also took the name of his grandfather, François, and received the title of Squire, Lord of Verdoyer, from the King’s Court and the Bishop of Angoulême. With his wife Marie du Conan, they had a boy, Antoine de Camain, Squire, Lord of Verdoyer and Lord of Les Etangs, who married Gabrielle Saunier at Mazerat on December 3, 1691.
The Modern Era: The Renaissance of Le Verdoyer (1987-Today)
After centuries of transformations and several changes of ownership, the château experienced a true renaissance in 1987. Richard and Ineke Ausems, an adventurous Dutch couple, bought this 14th-century castle and gradually transformed it into a magnificent holiday estate.
Their story is a modern novel in itself: after emigrating to France in 1971 without a penny to their name, they built, stone by stone, what has become today’s 4-star campsite, Château le Verdoyer, combining historical charm with modern comfort.
For nearly 40 years, the Ausems family has perpetuated the château’s spirit of hospitality, now managed by the new generation, Flo and Véro. The estate spans 23 hectares in the heart of the Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park, offering bed and breakfast, a gourmet restaurant, and camping facilities.
