Bours Keep

The Bours Keep, locally known as Donjon de Bours, lies in the village with the same name, in the Pas-de-Calais department in France.

The Bours Keep was built around 1375 by the Lord of Bours. The lordship itself dates back to the end of the 12th century. In the late 14th century, the lordship passed to the Mailly family, through inheritance.

During the 16th century, the region was part of the Spanish Netherlands. This caused the keep to be attacked by French troops twice, in 1537 and 1543, resulting in it burning down. These fires caused the collapse of all the interior levels. At the end of that century, the lordship passed from the Noyelles family to the Sainte-Aldegonde through marriage.

Around 1735, Bours ceased to be a noble residence and fell into dilapidation, with only the accompanying farm continued being actively used. And although the Sainte-Aldegonde family bought back the lordship after it had been confiscated and auctioned off in the course of the French Revolution, this didn't stop the keep from decaying. The farm building were demolished in the 19th century.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was talk of demolishing the keep, but luckily that did not happen. During the second half of the 20th century, it was restored several times and used as a town hall until 2014. Then archaeological excavations commenced showing that the keep used to be moated with an also moated bailey with outbuildings.

The keep has a rectangular shape with 6 corbelled turrets and should be described as a tower house, serving to show the prestige of its noble resident, as its thin walls would not have withstood a serious siege with artillery.

The Bours Keep can be visited with a guided tour for a fee. A very nice keep in a quiet rural village.

Gallery

The keep in 2009