Château de Colombières dates back to the 11th century. It was a fortress occupied by William, Raoul and Baudouin of Colombières, comrades in arms of William the Conqueror during the invasion of England in 1066. However the oldest parts of the present castle date back to the end of the 14th century. The wealthy Bacon du Molay built the fortress with the defensive architecture: a quadrangle flanked by four huge towers with arrow slits, a 9ft-thick and 36ft-high surrounding wall topped with a machicolation floor (a gallery with openings in the floor, through which stones or burning objects could be droppers on attackers), a moat and a drawbridge.
At the end of Hundred Years War (1328-1453), the battle of Formigny in 1450 ushered in a period of peace. Two elegant Renaissance towers were added to the castle by this family who owned Colombières fief for three centuries. During the Wars of Religion (1562-1598) fighting resumed. In 1562, the lord and master of Colombières, François de Bricqueville, one of the most dangerous protestant leaders of Lower Normandy is unfortunately remembered for plundering Bayeux Cathedral’s treasure and burning many precious items and books. He then laid siege to the town of Saint-Lô, took the Lord Bishop prisoner and desecrated the chapel of Colombières.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the fortress underwent several architectural changes in order to make the main building more comfortable: the surrounding wall was demolished on one side, one of the towers which had been partially destroyed was rebuilt as a square-shaped donjon, the windows were enlarged, the chapel desecrated by François de Bricqueville was rebuilt by his grandson Cyrus Antoine, who converted to Catholicism in 1678. In 1759, the fortified castle became the property of the Girardin family, related by marriage to the present owners, the Maupeou d’Ableiges family. During this period the fortress was then transformed along classical lines into a beautiful residence.
Today Château de Colombières is a hotel. Also guided tours are available.
References:The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.
The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.
Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.