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Origin and history

The dovecote of the mansion of Argences, located in Saussey in the Channel, dates from the 1st quarter of the 17th century (1610 according to an inscription). This rectangular building, built in Coutances diorite, has 844 bolts and served as a social marker for local lords. It is integrated into the manor, bordering the moat, and illustrates the utility architecture of the noble domains of the time. Listed at the Historical Monuments in 2001, it is one of the few dovecotes of this type preserved in Normandy.

The mansion of Argences, of which the dovecote is part, was built between 1607 and 1613 by Robert Varin, Sieur d'Argences and recipient of the sizes at Coutances. The estate then passed into the hands of influential families, such as the Prestre (which were completed in 1710), which made changes until the 19th century. The dovecote, dated 1612, bears witness to agricultural wealth and seigneurial privileges, such as the right to possess pigeons, reserved for the aristocracy or royal officers.

The site also preserves traces of a private chapel (a altar visible in 1950) and award-winning gardens, renovated in the 20th century. The dovecote, as a protected element, today embodies Norman rural heritage and its social history, linked to the nobility of dress and the royal administration under the Old Regime.

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