Gardonne
was known in Roman
times as «Villa Gardonna » and coins and medals stamped with
the heads of Emperors Teriens and Galiens have been found
around the church.
In the Middle Ages Gardonne was important as the ‘balliage’ or
bailiwick (administrative centre of royal justice) which, in
1385, extended as far as St Nexans.
Three churches bore the village’s name : St Foy de Gardonne
(1104) destroyed in 1587 during the Wars of Religion, St
Martin de Gardonne attached to Lamonzie and St Jean de
Gardonne the current church which was originally only the
château’s chapel. The château was built in the 11th century
and in 1381 Auger de la Mothe attached his lands to those of
the Bergerac nobility.
During the
Hundred Years War the English took and fortified the château
making it the most impregnable fortress of the county. In 1385,
Pierre de Mornay, Seneschal of Périgord, helped by the people of
Bergerac, took the fortress back from the enemy by orders of the
Governor and his counsels. The château was destroyed in 1386.
In the 15th century Gardonne belonged to the « De Rouffignac »
family who lived in the Rouillac Tower. By the 16th century
Gardonne had passed into the hands of the Larmandie family and
then by 1718 up until the Revolution it was owned by the Marquis
de Lostanges de St Alvère.
Local Council Mayor : M. DELTEIL Pascal
1st Deputy : BOUSQUET Jean-Christophe
2nd Deputy : MILHAU Henri
3rd Deputy : TOURENNE Christine
4th Deputy : REY Philippe
Local Councillors : BEDUBOURG Hélène ; DURAND Bernard ;
LAVANDIER Marie-Christine ; BERNARD Michel ; LEPAINTRE Françoise
; REY Stéphanie ; LAFONT Régis ; LALIZOU Christine ; ROSET
Jean-Claude ; FEYTOUT Béatrice
