A Brief History
Founded in 1284 by Jean de Grailly, the Seneschal of Aquitaine, on behalf of King Edward I of England, the bastide of Molières was never finished and therefore never experienced the urban expansion of Monpazier. In 1316 Ghilem de Toulouse, Edward II of England’s seneschal in Périgord, chose to make Molières his base and to build his castle there. This too, remained unfinished. The town was ravaged by the Hundred Years War then rebuilt only to be destroyed once more by the ferocious battles of the Wars of Religion.

The Bastide
The bastide was planned along regular lines and all its streets converge in the central square. Molières, the bastide, was never surrounded by arcaded houses and only the Bayle House is raised above its arches.
Molières is, nonetheless, a delightful village with the added charms of a Gothic church and the ruins of a fortress.

What to See
The Bayle House
Also known as the ‘porch,’ the Bayle House is all that remains of the arcaded square which once upon a time provided shelter for the shops. Traces of two ogival openings dating from the fourteenth century can be seen on its east façade.
The Market Place
In the heart of the village, the market place used to house a covered market hall which, sadly, no longer exists.

St Jean’s Church
The thirteenth-century fortified church seems out of all proportion to the small village. It is Plantagenet Gothic in style with ribbed vaults and a massive bell tower protecting the north facade. Battlemented parapets, destroyed in the nineteenth century, joined the south and north towers which were used as reserves in case of attack. The church was left in ruins by the Wars of Religion and the process of restoration only undertaken in the nineteenth century.

The Castle
The square, fortified castle was begun in 1316 to protect the village ; only the walls and part of the tower still survive.

La Maison de la Noix (The Walnut House)
A former presbytery, La Maison de la Noix now houses exhibits about the walnut : the various stages of walnut cultivation, the different varieties of walnut, the different uses to which the fruit can be put and examples of walnut wood. La Maison de la Noix is also home to the mairie.