 The first castle, that of Solomon de Lavardin, constructed at the beginning of the 11th century, appears to have consisted of a wooden keep on a motte, protecting a manor house on the summit of the promontory.The fortress of the counts de Vendôme from the 12th to the 15th century was composed of three or four enclosures surrounding a quadrangular keep, the whole built on three rock platforms excavated in the Middle Ages to increase height.At the foot of the castle, between the promontory and the Loir, a further enclosure protected the priory of Saint Martin (Saint-Gildéric), founded about 1040 by the first lord of Lavardin in an external bailey.