To trace the origins of the Château de Verdalle, as well as those of many castral residences in the region, we must go back to the year 849, when the County of Toulouse and the Viscounty of Albi joined the crown of France under the reign of Charles the Bald. The region then entered the feudal system with its ties of vassalage, by which the lords of the lands and of fiefs had to swear allegiance – often on a voluntary basis, but also by force.
Around 1020, several lords, including the Lord of Dourgne, swore allegiance to the King of France and to the Viscount of Albi.
The exact date of the construction of the first castle in Verdalle is not known, but we do know that the Lord of Dourgne would have had a first castrum built in Verdalle, just before his departure on the 1st Crusade with Raymond de Saint-Gilles (Raymond IV of Toulouse) in 1096.
The castrum of Verdalle is described in a text of 1153 and specifies the presence in the castrum of houses. Indeed, at this time, the dwellings were nestled around the castles. Verdalle was therefore a fortified village, in a semi-circle around the castle, just like that of Escoussens. One difference, however, is that the castle of Escoussens was built on a natural elevation, whereas the Château de Verdalle was built on a motte, an artificially built mound, made of earth or stones.
Although Verdalle Castle and its inhabitants survived the tumultuous periods of Catharism unscathed, the castle was partially destroyed by flames in the 16th Century during the French Wars of Religion. By then, the Loubens de Verdalle family owned the land in Verdalle.
In 1582, Jacques de Loubens, Lord of Verdalle, captain of 50 men-at-arms, was made a baron by King Henri III, and in 1585, was made a Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit (le Cordon Bleu). He was then made a Knight of Saint-Michael in Amboise, an order exclusively reserved for gentlemen attached to the person of the king.
Jacques' younger brother Hugues I de Loubens de Verdalle was made Grand Master of the Order of Malta, then made cardinal by Pope Sixtus V in 1587.
He ended up building the Verdala Palace in Malta in 1586, which is today the official summer residence of the President of Malta.
Jacques married Lady Guilhamettes de Grave de Sérignan on 1st October 1588 in Béziers since, despite him being 60 years of age, he still hoped to have a male heir. Hugues II de Loubens de Verdalle was born in 1592, and his father Jacques died in 1594.
From 1606 to 1608, Dame Guilhamettes de Grave de Sérignan, widow of Jacques, carried out reconstruction work on the Château de Verdalle following the damage it suffered during the Wars of Religion.
Lineage of the heirs of the de VERDALLE FAMILY
Hugues II de Loubens, Baron de Verdalle, son of Jacques and Guilhamettes – born in 1591.
Jacques II de Loubens, becomes Count of Verdalle – died in 1714.
Henri I de Loubens – died in 1705.
Henri II de Loubens receives the title of Marquis de Verdalle – born in 1699.
Frédéric, Count of Verdalle, born April 3, 1748.
The genealogist of King Louis XV had officially recognised the filiation of the Loubens de Verdalle family since 1287 as well as the titles of Marquis and that of Count.
On 22nd June 1791, while his regiment was garrisoned in Verdun, Frédéric was sent to Varennes, but he arrived too late to save Louis XVI from the pack of revolutionaries. It is said that the testimony of one of his lieutenants was poignant.
Frédéric spent the years of revolutionary turmoil in his wife's family in Normandy, so much so that the lands and the castle of Verdalle had been confiscated as emigrant property, which of course was false. After the dark period known as the "Terror", Frédéric requested and obtained the lifting of the confiscation and was therefore able to regain full ownership of his property, but ended up having to sell it all in 1804 for lack of financial means. Father Alfred writes: “This is how the land and lordship of Verdalle, which belonged to the house of Loubens for more than 500 years, left the family to pass into foreign hands."
DE BARRAU DE MURATEL Family
These foreign hands were those of the de Barrau de Muratel family, a noble family from the Montagne Noire.
Little is known of this period except that the dependencies of the castle, the old stables, were built in 1828.
d'AUBERJON Family
In 1908, Edmond d'Auberjon (born in 1846), viscount, student at Sorèze and the French officers' school of Saint-Cyr, second lieutenant in the 7th Regiment of Dragoons then squadron leader in the 3rd Regiment of Chasseurs, bought the Château de Verdalle.
Edmond had 4 children from his wife Blanche Jenty: two boys and two girls.
The two sons were respectively MPs, one in Haute-Garonne, the other in Aude. Both died on the battlefield in 1914.
Of the two daughters, Marie-Madeleine d'Auberjon (aunt Mimi), born 17th December 1879 in Paris VIII, was a nurse on the front during the First World War. Very pious, "Mademoiselle" as she was then called, was the benefactress of the village of Verdalle, as a nurse at the service of the inhabitants, through the construction of the private Catholic school St Jean, and through the bequest of her property to the Sisters of the Cross of Lavaur. She was known to welcome children and open up the property for weddings; these were held in the former stables of the castle.
Without posterity, Aunt Mimi died on 17th September 1974 (the square where the Verdalle War Memorial stands, in front of the town hall, bears her name).
The Sisters of the Cross of Lavaur carried out many works on the property, including the construction of the chapel in what was previously a garage of the castle. It was the craftsman Jean-Claude Izard who was responsible for creating the 3 stained-glass windows that adorn the chapel, as well as the marble paving in opus incertum and the bronze tabernacle (sold by the diocese).
The Sisters of the Cross were replaced towards the end of 1995 when the Archdiocese of Albi became the owner of the castle. Various branches of the Catholic Church settled there until 2007, when the place became vacant. Since then, the castle and the park had been abandoned and maintained in a very basic way.
In June 2013 the property found new owners who, with the help of friends and volunteers, are trying try to bring a new life, restore some beauty and give a new meaning to the castle.
“Ours is the meeting of two unusual life stories that have come together to become one. Two lovers of nature and of human nature. In our little paradise, we welcome you, without swimming pool or TV, but with our smiles and our kindness.
An atypical place, with a wide open heart, where doves with angels fly in unison...
Welcoming you is sheer joy and, if you believe in destiny, it will lead you to the Château de Verdalle."
Francine & Christian