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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Manor House of Veaumicel, formerly called Valmisset and then Vaumisset, is a 16th century fortified house located in Vierville-sur-Mer, Calvados. Built around 1551 by Guillaume Canivet, a supporter of Henry IV and anoblied in 1543, it reflects Renaissance architecture while maintaining defensive features, such as towers pierced by murderers. His history was marked by a fire in 1589, during the Wars of Religion, and by changes in names and owners over the centuries.

The manor, surrounded by a quadrangular limestone enclosure, includes a rectangular house defended by four round towers and a watchtower. Originally, it was protected by a double gate, of which only the pedestrian door, now walled, remains partially. The facades, although redesigned in the 20th century, retain original elements such as a door window and murderers. The site also includes an old bread oven and farm buildings converted into studs.

Owned by the Canivet family until 1755, the manor then passed into several hands, including that of Viscount François de Bellaigue, killed at the front in 1915. Enlisted as historical monuments in 1927, it bears witness to the architectural and social evolution of Normandy, between residential, defensive and agricultural functions. His history is documented in local works, such as those of Étienne de Bellaigue or Bernard Gourbin.

The manor also illustrates the upheavals of his time: the wars of Religion, which caused its partial destruction in 1589, and the agricultural and social transformations of the 17th to 18th centuries. Its inscription in 1927 underscores its heritage value, mixing late medieval heritage and renaissant influences, typical of Norman manors of this period.

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