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Origin and history

The castle of Flamanville found its origins in a seigneurial estate mentioned in 1008, when Duke Richard II of Normandy awarded it as a gift to his wife, Judith of Brittany. This fief, divided in the 13th century into two parts (fief d'amont and fief d'aval), passed into the hands of noble families such as the Venoix d'Amfreville, before being acquired in 1406 by the Basan family, which kept it for four centuries. The Basan unify the two fiefs and transform the site into a baronie, then a marquisat under Louis XIV.

The major reconstruction of the castle took place between 1655 and 1658, under the impetus of Hervieu Hervé Basan de Flamanville, a large baili of Cotentin. It erected a marina by employing elements of an old strong house, including two towers and 15th century walls. The castle, inaugurated in 1658 by a sumptuous feast, became a symbol of local power. The chapel was consecrated in 1659, and Bishop Jean-Hervé Bazan of Flamanville was born there in 1660.

In the 19th century, the castle changed hands several times: inherited by Monique Le Conte de Nonant, it was then acquired by the family of Sesmaisons, which established a modern farm in 1828. Marquis Marie-Charles-Donatien de Sesmaisons and his wife, Louise de Choiseul, resided there until 1867. In 1888, the property was sold to Charles Milcent and then passed on to his son-in-law André Rostand. After a period of abandonment and a brief possession by EDF, the town of Flamanville bought the castle in 1986 to preserve it.

The castle park, built around 1826, spans about 20 hectares and houses since 2006 a conservatory of dahlias, one of the largest in France with 800 varieties in 2018. Among the remarkable elements, the "Tour Jean-Jacques", built in 1778, recalls an invitation to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, never realized. The castle, which was listed as a historic monument in 1930, is only partially visited, but its park remains free of charge all year round.

Architecturally, the castle is distinguished by its main house body flanked by two pavilions, its dardian roofs and its pepper turrets. The rear façade preserves a 15th century round tower, while the honorary courtyard, preceded by a moat, houses a medieval staircase for riders. The lower courtyard, surrounded by service buildings, runs along a pond in a valley. The coat of arms of the Sesmaisons family adorns the curvilinear front of the main façade.

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