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Origin and history

The castle of Dampierre, located in the present municipality of Val de Drôme (Calvados, Normandy), is a building of the 1st quarter of the seventeenth century, rebuilt by Hervé IV de Longaunay on the bases of a medieval construction from which remains moat and foundations of towers. This close friend of Marshal Matignon, Lieutenant General of Henry IV, died in 1590 at the Battle of Ivry. His son, Jean de Longaunay, military intendant of Saint-Lô and leagueur, inherited the estate, erected as a marquisat in the 17th century. During the Revolution, the main house and the commons were destroyed, leaving only fragmentary structures.

The architecture of the castle combines limestone, brick and granite, typical of the Italian mannerist style. The portery (17th century), attributed to architect François Gabriel (ancestor of the royal Gabriels), and the domed domed roof restored after 1945, form a remarkable decorative ensemble. These elements, classified in 2000, contrast with the stone massif and the stone bridge, rebuilt in the 19th century (1810 for the bridge, 1850 for a new southern home). The medieval towers, remodeled by Hervé de Longaunay, preserve their brick scallops and skylights.

In the 19th century, the Marquis de Briges, then his nephew François Doynel de Sausserie (from 1891), owned the estate before its dismemberment between 1924 and 1927. The castle, registered in 1928, underwent major changes in the 1970s, partially altering its original structure. The alternating materials (red stone of Troisgots, Caen limestone) recall other works by Gabriel, such as the castles of Torigni-sur-Vire and Canisy, linked to the Matignon family.

The current protections distinguish: the castle and its outbuildings (registered in 1928), and the portery with the dovecote (classified in 2000). The latter, originally linked to the buildings of the court of honour (known as "the cannons"), illustrate Gabriel's architectural influence. The dovecote, with 1,800 preserved bolts, and the doorway to three doors (charrier and pedestrians) reflect the seigneurial fascist of the seventeenth century, despite the revolutionary destructions and subsequent changes.

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