Construction of the castle 1750 (≈ 1750)
Built by the Tourville family
1791
Lifelong learning
Lifelong learning 1791 (≈ 1791)
Louis de La Couldre buys the Bretonière
13 septembre 2006
Partial classification
Partial classification 13 septembre 2006 (≈ 2006)
Registration for historical monuments
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The facades and roofs of the castle, as well as the staircase with its cage; the courtyard of honor with its masonry terrace; the plate of the classic garden including the appetizer, the hopping-off; the access perspective and aisle; the facades and roofs of the two buildings of communes bordering the foreyard, the kennel and the former mill - bakery with its bief consisting of a masonry aerial canal; the vegetable garden with its fence walls (cad. D 14, placed Avenue du Château de Tourville, 15, placed le Bosquet, 16, placed l'Avenue de Face, 17 to 19, placed le Bas du Bois, 20, placed la Terrasse, 22, 23, placed Château de Tourville, 24, placed le Jardin): inscription by order of 13 September 2006
Key figures
Famille de Tourville - Initial sponsors
Builders of the castle in 1750
Louis de La Couldre de La Bretonnière - Post-revolutionary owner
Residence at the castle after 1791
Origin and history
Tourville Castle is a classic building dating from the 3rd quarter of the 18th century, built in 1750 by the Tourville family on the town of Lestre, in the department of the Manche. It replaces an older building, which remains the two common buildings bordering the forecourt. The architecture is characterized by a housing body with a protruding pavilion, a front porch and a balcony supported by six rear consoles, topped by a pediment. The estate preserves typical elements of the large rural estates: orchard, kennel, bakery (with its masonry canal), and enclosed vegetable garden, although the dovecote has disappeared.
Subsequently acquired by Louis de La Couldre de La Bretonnière, the castle became his residence while he waited in vain to occupy the castle of the Bretonnière, bought in 1791 by way of life. The park, designed in a classic style, includes a large parterre bounded by a hop-off, extending the perspective to the old church road. The ensemble illustrates the spatial and functional organization of Norman aristocratic domains on the eve of the Revolution.
Partially classified as historical monuments by decree of 13 September 2006, the castle protects its facades, roofs, staircase and cage, as well as the courtyard of honour, the communes, the mill-boulangerie, and the garden with its hydraulic system. These protections highlight the heritage value of a site preserving both an 18th century residential architecture and the traces of a complete agricultural estate, rare in Normandy.
The location of the castle, one kilometer southeast of the church of Saint-Martin de Lestre, and its official address (1 Tourville Castle, 50310 Letre) make it a major historical landmark of the Cotentin. The available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum, Merimée base) confirm its status as a witness to the social and architectural changes in the region between the Ancient Regime and the revolutionary period.
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