Vauclair castle
Vauclair castle, also Vauclerc castle (French: 'Château Vauclair) was a castle built in La Rochelle,[1] by Henry II of England in the 12th century.
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The castle was located in the area defined by the current Place de Verdun (formally called Place du Chateau).[2]
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It was incorporated in the fortifications of the city built by William X of Aquitaine, father of Alienor of Aquitaine, in 1130.
The castle consisted in four large towers connected by high walls. It was destroyed at the request of Charles V of France between 1372 and 1375, after the Siege of La Rochelle (1224), and its stones were used to build a new fortification wall at Le Gabut.[3]
The name Vauclair comes from the Latin valde clarum (greatly light, luminous or white), as it was built in the white calcerous sandstone of the region.
Notes
- Béarn and the Pyrenees by Louisa Stuart Costello p.205
- Bradshaw's illustrated travellers' hand book in [afterw.] to France by George Bradshaw
- Ministry of Culture listing (in French)
References
- Musée d'Orbigny Bernon