The castle of Pechrigal where Léo Ferré lived is for sale

He had poetically renamed it Perdrigal (partridge in Occitan). For five years in the mid-1960s, Léo Ferré and his wife Madeleine lived a little apart from the world in this vast estate perched on a hill in the village of Saint-Clair, not far from Gourdon.

It was when he came to sing at the Saint-Céré casino that the singer fell in love with Lot and asked one of his friends to find him a home in the area. He was then introduced to Pechrigal, Ferré fell in love with the 14th century castle and its huge estate, which he bought and settled in with Madeleine and Pépée, his famous chimpanzee.

Report: E. Marlot / J. Jauze / F. Declercq

After the departure of Léo Ferré in 1968, Pechrigal was abandoned. In 1998, it was bought by a Franco-American who carried out major renovations to transform it into a luxurious reception venue for weddings and private receptions.

The advertisement of the real estate agency in charge of the sale mentions that the estate now has several reception rooms, 24 bedrooms in the castle and the numerous outbuildings, a swimming pool, a tennis court and even a small vineyard planted with Merlot producing 4000 bottles each year. In short, nothing much to do with the Ferré era, of which, by the way, there is no trace left in the building, even if its name is put forward by the sellers.