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Origin and history

The Manor House of Auffay, located in Oherville, Seine-Maritime, finds its origins in a castral installation of the 11th and 12th centuries, attested by a nearby motte. This site belonged to the Houdetot family until the 17th century. The reconstruction of the manor house in the 15th century was initiated by William d'Houdetot, Grand Master of the Arbalétriers of France, after the destruction of his castle d'Houdetot by the English in 1423. The work, delayed by the Hundred Years' War, began around 1450 under the direction of his son John († 1492), benefiting from a rent of one hundred pounds offered by his mother.

In 1485, Jean-d'Houdetot and his wife Marie de la Mothe gave the fief d'Auffay to their eldest son James for his marriage. When Jacques died in 1492, he inherited family fiefs alone, despite local custom, and kept Auffay where he undertook constructions. The current manor house, transitional in style between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, is mainly the work of Jacques († 1513) and his petit-neveeu Antoine († after 1531), which adds a vaulted vestibule attributed to Jean Goujon (1553). The facades contrast between a fortified north (shaped, small openings) and a decorated south, reflecting the evolution of architectural tastes.

In the 16th century, the mansion passed to William d'Houdetot, lieutenant of the king's gentlemen, then to his son Antoine, and finally to Pierre d'Houdetot, who died in 1567 at the battle of Saint-Denis alongside the connétable de Montmorency. Stone modernises the building with monumental skylights and a stone staircase. In 1747, the pretender Stuart Charles-Édouard stayed at his cousin Louis d'Houdetot. Abandoned in the 18th century for the benefit of Herville, the mansion was sold in 1890, then restored at the end of the 19th century by Miss Marie Le Verdier and architect Émile Janet, who changed the south façade and the vestibule.

The estate, including a dovecote and a castral motte girdled with ditches, is partially listed as historical monuments (castle in 1932, dovecote and motte in 1996). Private property opened on occasion to the visit, it hosts cultural events. Acquired in 2012, it was the subject of a major rehabilitation completed in 2021, perpetuating its architectural heritage combining bricks, sandstones and flint, characteristic of the country of Caux.

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