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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Arville Manor House, also known as the Arreville Manor House, is a 16th, 17th and 18th century mansion located 1.2 km northeast of the Church of Sainte-Geneviève, in the English Channel. It is distinguished by two architectural periods marked: a narrow pavilion of the late 16th century, Renaissance style, and an 18th century building forming right angle. The pavillon tower, with a steep roof, retains typical features such as a horse riding mount, while the main house features 18th-century small tiled windows.

The history of the mansion was linked to Hennot's family in the 15th century. In 1530 Nicolas de Hennot, master of waters and forests at the bailliage of Cotentin, inherited the estate and married Catherine Le Clerc, daughter of the privateer François Le Clerc. Their granddaughter, Madeleine de Hennot, married John III de Ravalet, seigneur of Tourlaville. Their son, Julien de Ravalet, Sieur d'Arreville, was sentenced and beheaded in Paris in 1603 with his sister Marguerite for incest. In the 17th century, another Nicolas de Hennot, an officer of the Queen, married Marie du Saussey, perpetuating the aristocratic anchor of the place.

The outbuildings of the mansion include a farm with elongated buildings, with 16th-century elements such as a double porch, and an 18th-century cartettery with arches in the middle of the hangar. A long-street press remains in the communes, reflecting past agricultural activity. The corner tower and facades of the eighteenth century have been protected since 1981 as historic monuments, highlighting their heritage value.

Architecturally, the mansion blends sobriety and elegance: the facade of the house, on the garden side, recalls that of the castle of Graintéville in Clitourps by its regular windowing. The Renaissance Tower, pierced by large superimposed windows and an oculus, contrasts with the adjacent building of the 18th century, more sober. These contrasts illustrate stylistic evolutions between Renaissance and the Enlightenment in Normandy.

The estate, now privately owned, embodies local history through its successive transformations. Its partial registration in 1981 aims to preserve the most representative elements of its past, while allowing adaptation to contemporary uses, such as room rental or tourist accommodation.

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