History

	Crain at the beginning of the XX^th century (35 k)

	The origins: XIII^th century The name of Crain appears for the first time in 1290, in a transaction made by the monks of the Sauve-Majeure abbey about the watermill of Crain. Today only ruins of this mill remain, at the junction of two small rivers canalized by stone walls and surrounding the Château.

	XIV^th century: Daylan and Segur Families An act of 1342 testifies the origin of the Château de Crain. At this date, the King of England Edouard III requests Bernard Daylan to enforce his people to carry stone and wood materials necessary for the reparation of his fortress of Crain located in the Entre-Deux-Mers district, and partially destroyed during the battles between French and English armies. The Château de Crain then became the property of the Segur family, whom members were named Lords of Crain. The first of them was Bertrand de Segur in 1361.

	XV^th and XVI^th centuries: Segur and de Mellet Families After Bertrand de Segur came his son Jean de Segur, and his grandson Bertrand de Segur, still alive in 1458, Eymeric de Segur and Gaston de Segur who in 1518 was named Lord of Crain and Lord of Francs. Then the traces of the Segur family vanish, and in 1536, Crain belongs to Louis de Mellet, Lord of Rochemores and his wife Guyonne de Chassaignes.

	XVII^th and XVIII^th centuries: de Belcier and Ducasse Families Crain then belongs to the de Belcier, a rich family of Bordeaux parliament deputy who owned Crain until the French Revolution, and who liked to be named "de Belcier de Crain". The last member of the family, François de Belcier, was decapitated in 1789. The Château was then sold as a National asset the "17 floreal an V". The domain of 279 journaux, including 94 journaux of vineyards, consisted in "a château, with its cellars, vats, and other exploitation buildings, gardens, water mill, Noulet share cropped farm, vines, meadows and land...". The whole was sold to Mister Ducasse.

	XIX^th century: Darieux and Seignan Families When the revolutionnary troubles disappeared, Bernard Brice Darieux, real estate agent in Bordeaux, bought the Château, and his son Germain Maurice Darieux sold it in 1845 to Auguste Seignan, wine trader in Bordeaux. He rearranged the Château, and this restoration masqued nearly totally the medieval age parts that could have been visible from the outside.

	XX^th century: de Raynal, Barbier, Fougere Families Auguste Seignan daughter, Marie Marguerite Seignan, known as Madame de Raynal, legated Crain to his son Georges Urbain de Raynal. He sold Crain in 1936 to Maurice Barbier, mushroom grower in Angouleme, who wanted to use the old stone carry under the Château for the culture of the Paris mushroom. During WorldWar II, Crain was used as a headquarter by the German army, and some traces of the stay are still visible, such as names of German officers painted on the doors of a dining room. After the War, the traditional wine making activity and the Paris mushrooms production in the stone carry occupied up to 50 people at Crain. The mushroom activity stopped in 1981. In 1985, the wines of Crain started to be sold under the Château de Crain label directly at the Château.

	Today: Fougère family After the different Barbier inheritance, it is now Michel Fougere, Maurice Barbier grandson, his wife Annie and his two daughters Anne and Marie-Cécile who own Château de Crain.


	Château de Crain - 33750 Baron - France - Tel 33 (0)5 57 24 50 66 - Fax 33 (0)5 57 24 14 07 Internet www.chateau-de-crain.com - Email fougere@chateau-de-crain.com ©1998 SCA de Crain