Listed in this wonderful photographic history of the Deux Sevres on page 228 there is an old photo of the Fougere and a few paragraphs of text giving a little history of the previous ownership .
There is a translation below it, and below that a photo of the pediment mentioned in the text with the inscription 'Virtue et Labore' and a date of 1598.
Its believed that the original building consisted of just a three story fortified tower,then extended and improved by Msr Massom circa 1596 (the date on the large fireplace).
The part of the building to the right of the front door is of a later period,and was almost certainly a separate dwelling,then joined to the rest of the Fougere with the addition of the hallway and most likely reclaimed roman style doorway.
A century later, La Grande Fougere was the property of squire Marchand, living in Paris. .At that time the fiefdom had a revenue of 700 pounds.
The domain passed on to the Esprons of Beauregard, then to the Alberts, the Desaivres, Cadals and Alixes.
The construction of the mansion seems to date back to the end of the fourteenth, or beginning of the 15th century. It was subjected to changes and extensions in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The estate has been known since the fourteenth century and was part of Faye at that time.
It is known that at the end of the 16th Century, La Grande Fougere
was in the hands of Francois Masson, equerry, squire of Breuillon and La Fougeret.
On a small window of the house, carrying a coat of arms and dating from 1598, he had engraved the following motto:
virtute et labore (virtue and labour)
A square tower still remains but without its top but equipped with a bretche ( an opening for throwing rocks onto assailants).
The entrance door of the gentleman's home is surmounted by a triangular ornament with a hole in it. In line with this door, situated under the roof, exists another bretche.
The estate included a small wood which was cut down at the beginning of the 18th century.
