Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The estate of Saint-Just has its origins in the 13th century, with the remains of a first castle still visible. At the end of the 16th century, Jacques de Crosmare (or Croixmare) built a new house, described in 1608 as a manor house surrounded by commons, orangery, gardens, and an aisle. The estate then includes vineyards, mills, a chapel and arable land. These elements are attested by a statement of fief property held in the National Archives.

In 1654, the estate was sold to Jean de Savary, squire and Grand Master of the Waters and Forests of Normandy. Under his family, the park is transformed into a French garden, with a water circuit and a vegetable garden. A 1744 plan documents this development. In 1775 the Duke of Penthièvre acquired the castle and converted it into a hospice for his elderly servants, adding a dairy, a cooler, and an infirmary. When he died in 1793, the estate was sold as a national property.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Marshal Suchet, Duke of Albufera, became owner and undertook major work between 1816 and 1825. The architect Lacorne redraws the ground floor in Empire style, while the gardener Belguise transforms part of the park into an English garden. After the Marshal died in 1826, his widow divided the property. Since 1885, the castle belongs to the same family, which gradually restores the park: replanting of the avenue in plane trees (1893), curing of the water pieces (1905), and re-watering of the chutes (1935).

The castle and its park have been protected as historical monuments since 1995 (registration) and 1997 (classification for the park and its hydraulic network). The gardens, combining 17th and 19th century heritage, are labeled Remarkable Garden. The estate retains a variety of architectural elements, such as a brick cooler, masonized terraces, and a water mirror, bearing witness to its many transformations.

A singular detail: in 1798, the wife of Sébastien-Gilles Huet de Guerville was buried in the park, her mausoleum reusing 16th-century funeral elements from the church of Mercey. This fact illustrates the historical re-uses and strata of the site.

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