Concressault () is a
commune in the
Cher
Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...
department in the Centre-Val de Loire
region of France
France is Administrative divisions of France, divided into eighteen administrative regions (, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are Overseas departments and regions of France, ove ...
by the banks of the
Sauldre
The Sauldre () is a long river in central France, a right tributary of the Cher. Its source is near the village of Montigny, southwest of Sancerre. The Sauldre flows generally northwest, through the following departments and towns:
* Cher: Va ...
river, north of
Bourges
Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...
.
Population
History
In the medieval period, Concressault was surrounded by fortifications and therefore had the status of city. The village developed around a castle built some distance from the older village of Dampierre-en-Crot. The new village ended up, at some point in the past, being more important than the first one.
The castle
In his manuscript on the Berry,
[Description du Berry et diocèse de Bourges au XVIe siècle, par Nicolas de Nicolay publié ��par Victor Advielle, Paris, 1865 (le manuscrit est daté de 1567).] Nicolas de Nicolay gave up a description of the castle as it was in 1567. According to him, he fortress got ruined by the English during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). A short time after the destruction it got rebuilt in a more solid form by the Duke Jean de Berry (1340–1416). The castle had an hexagonal shape, with 32 meters high and 12 meters thick walls made of hard rocks. Buildings were built out of colored bricks and covered by slate. The moats were 32 meters large and 4 meters deep.
Sir
John Stewart of Darnley, a Scottish nobleman, was awarded the title of "Lord of Concressault" thanks to his participation to the
Battle of Baugé
The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and a Franco- Scots army on 22 March 1421 at Baugé, France, east of Angers, was a major defeat for the English in the Hundred Years' War. The English army was led by the king's brother Thom ...
. In March 1423, he also becomes the Lord of
Aubigny-sur-Nère. Under the reign of Charles VII (1422–1462) the castle was besieged again by the English who were not able to take control of it. Chased by the French, they mistook a narrow pit for the Sauldre river, that they thought they could pass through a ford. Many of them sank and the pit got called "la fosse aux Anglais" (literally: the pit of the English).
See also
*
Communes of the Cher department
The following is a list of the 286 communes of the Cher department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):
References
External links
Photos of the castle ruins
{{authority control
Communes of Cher (department)