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Origin and history

Villebadin Castle is a manor house built at the end of the reign of Henry IV (early 17th century), and subsequently renovated in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is distinguished by its square plan, its two floors, and an entrance marked by classical pilasters. Surrounded by wide moat, it is connected to the outside by an arcade bridge. This site was originally a former strong house, transformed into a gentilhommière by the Flers family in the 17th century.

The commons, built in the second half of the eighteenth century, form a remarkable architectural ensemble. The stables, arranged in square, have a porch surmounted by a rounded pediment, while the dovecote, intact, retains its bolts and its rotating ladder. The estate belonged to the families of Mauvoisin (15th-17th centuries) and La Motte-Ango (18th-18th centuries), reflecting the social and architectural evolution of the Norman nobility.

Ranked a historic monument in 1978, the castle protects its facades, roofs of the communes, stables and dovecote. Its history illustrates the transitions between medieval forthouse, Renaissance mansion and aristocratic residence of the Enlightenment, while preserving defensive elements such as moat. The location in Gouffern en Auge, in Orne, makes it a witness of Normandy's rural heritage.

The available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum) underline its architectural and historical importance, although some local details, such as current usage (visits, accommodation), remain undocumented in the reference texts. The accuracy of its geographical location is estimated to be poor (level 5/10), according to Merimée data.

The castle is part of a regional context marked by the presence of many genthommières and castles, typical of Lower Normandy. These residences reflected the local power of noble families, often linked to the royal administration or agricultural activities. Villebadin, with its extensive commons, suggests an organized farm, common among the provincial aristocracy of the Ancien Régime.

The inscription in the historical monuments in 1978 preserved this complex, characteristic of architectural transformations between the 17th and 18th centuries. The protected elements (colombier, stables, facades) demonstrate the importance attached to both seigneurial habitat and dependencies, which are essential to the functioning of a large rural estate.

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