Les remparts des Basses Prisons

The "Basses Prisons" are the remains of the ramparts of the castle of the Viscounts of Thouars, founders of the town. The Place du Champ de Foire was the Lower Courtyard of the Castle. It is surrounded by remarkable houses.

The Basses Prisons ramparts are the remains of the Château du Vicomte. They consist of walls linking three engaged towers, two of which are horseshoe-shaped, the 3rd being more imposing at an angle. The defensive features, crenellations and machicolations that once stood above them were destroyed in the 17th century during the Fronde. At the foot of the ramparts, the former moat is now a green picnic area.

From the Basses Prisons, you reach the Champ de Foire, so named because fairs were held there until the 1970s. The demise of the Halles, now located on Place Saint-Jean, dealt them a fatal blow. Some remarkable houses surround this square.

The house known as the "Bonnet Rouge", built in 1537, is in the flamboyant Gothic style, with superb mouldings framing doors and windows, and a sculpted head in the corner. The "Jeanneton" house (1825) was built on the site of Saint-Jean church, which was destroyed after the French Revolution. It has an Imperial-style carinated roof (inverted ship's hull).