Templar Site : The House of Angoulême

In Angoulême, the Knights Templar owned a house with a chapel near the seigneurial castle, but the archives say little about this settlement.

All we know from a document settling a dispute between the Knights Templar of the Commandery of Boixe and the Abbey of Saint-Amand-de-Boixe⁽¹⁾ is that Brother Aimery Lambert was Commander of Angoulême, Boixe and Le Fouilloux.

In 1373, the papal inquiry into the assets of the Order of the Hospital revealed that the premises had been abandoned for two years and that no income had been derived from them since then.

In 1588, the Duke of Epernon⁽²⁾ decided, on the King’s orders, to alter the fortifications of Angoulême Castle. These alterations led to the demolition of the Maison du Temple and its chapel, situated near the Basse-Cour and the castle walls.

The Commander of Villegats, to whom Angoulême was then answerable, sent a plea to the Duke of Epernon asking him to spare the buildings, but his plea was rejected. All the buildings were razed to the ground and the materials were reused in the construction of the new fortifications.

Notes :

⁽¹⁾Benedictine abbey whose history goes back to the late 9^th century. It was founded in the 7^th century on the tomb of Saint-Amant in the forest nearby and then moved in the 11^th century to its present location, in the commune of Saint-Amant-de-Boixe.

⁽²⁾Jean Louis de Nogaret , Lord of La Valette and Caumont. Born in 1554, died in 1642. Duke of Epernon from 1581 to 1642.

The House of Angoulême

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