In 1720 Nicolas, crippled with debt, sold the estate
to Squire Jacques Guenon, master of La Chapelle and Chanteloup in the
parish of Perignac for 29,800 livres. Jacques Guenon rebuilt part of
the house adding the corridor wing to the left of the Lanchere
pavillion. The bull's eye windows at first floor level copies an
earlier house built by him at Chanteloup. Archive documents show that
he intended to build further to the left of the existing house with a
further wing and pavillion to mirror image the Lanchere house. It is
interesting to note that the room which now serves as the Grand salon
was built as the entrance hall. This can be partly confirmed by looking
from the salon out through the courtyard gates at the old drive which
carries on across land that belonged to the estate to the main road
approximately a kilometre away.
Guenon died in 1750 and the house was never finished although his heirs
retained possession until 1802 when the heiress of the estate, Jeanne
Guenon, followed tradition and brought it into her marriage with the
Chevalier de Beauchamp, landlord of the Logis La Nougerade, whose
descendants kept the chateau throughout the entire 19th century. Their
family probably added the tower to the left of Lanchere's
pavilliontowards the end of their tenure. It originally featured a
spiral staircase which was later removed.
As with all estate of the type, Clerbise evolved as a self-contained
estate with both horse and stock stables, barns, coach houses, a
laundry and bakery, all of which exist today.
Following the introduction of Cognac production to the area, probably
by Irish and Scottish soldiers of fortune, in the late 1700s, the
estate started to produce cognac in addition to wine. In the early 20th
century it gained a reputation as a fine producer under the
Foucard-Lechantre label.
The walls around the vineyard, no longer owned by the estate, were
constructed in the 19th century and now only surround fields of maize.
Little remains of the old church apart from its impressive entrance
gable and a small section of side wall. There are, however, examples of
the old carved stone coffins outside the entrance door. The stone
coffin tops are no longer on them, two residing as seats by the Chateau
swimming pool, another alonside the existing drive and the rest finding
homes in the gardens of local residents. Below the ground, a series of
tunnels still exist, one leading to the wine cellar of the chateau and
another leading to the gardens of the neighbouring farms. Local
folklore relates that originally a tunnel linked the Chateau of Plessac
with clerbise and the town of Pons, a distance of some 11 kilometres,
for in the days of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard Cœur de Lion and John
Lackland (John 1), the whole area was in constant turmoil and it is
supposed that in times of trouble sanctity may have been sought within
the great walls of the Castle of Pons.
During the second world war, the chateau was occupied by the German
forces as a local officer headquarters. We are told by an elderly local
rinhabitant that the tunnels were put to good use by the resistance as
an ideal place to hide their weapons, access being gained through an
entrance in one of the neighbouring farms. Stories also abound of the
Germans holding their balls on the terrace!
Recent Works The chateau has had a number of owners since the war and, having been
derelict for a few years, has in the past twelve years been slowly
restored and redecorated to provide a unique holiday home.
Part of the original cognac production barn, including the original
grape floor, together with the tower appartment of the gamekeeper have
been incorporated into a 5 bedroom self-catering holiday gîte named the
Domaine de Chasseur.
The original stock stables together with the tower appartment of the
grooms have been similarly converted to a 6 bedroom holiday gîte named
Les
Etables.
It is intended to build on these recent improvements and conversions.
The short term aim is to further renovate the
Chateau itself but medium
term plans include the conversion of the original barrel storage barn
to another 5 bedroom house, the construction of an indoor swimming pool
and leisure centre and the addition of an Orangery to the side of the
chateau's salon.
History 
