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Bellou Manor à Bellou dans le Calvados

Patrimoine classé
Demeure seigneuriale
Manoir
Calvados

Bellou Manor

    Manoir de Bellou
    14140 Livarot-Pays-d'Auge
Crédit photo : Vincent van Zeijst - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1560
Construction of the dovecote
Seconde moitié du XVe siècle
Initial construction
Début XVIe siècle
East Pavilion Expansion
1720
Building stables
XVIIe siècle
Extension north façade
5 février 1923
Classification of the mansion
2 novembre 2004
Classification of press
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Le manoir : classification by decree of 5 February 1923 - The press building, with all its mechanisms, as well as the adjoining cellar (Box B 192): classification by decree of 2 November 2004

Key figures

Famille Du Merle - First owners Initial owner of Bellou's fief.
Famille Le Michel - Owners in the 16th century Responsible for major enlargements.
Mathurin Le Michel - Probable sponsor Pavilion is added for him or his son.
Famille La Pallu - Owners in the 18th century Successors of the Le Michel.
Georges Bisson - Former Mayor of Livarot Owner of the mansion in the 20th century.

Origin and history

The mansion of Bellou, located in the village of the old town of Bellou (now Livarot-Pays-d'Auge), dates mainly from the sixteenth century, although its origin dates back to the second half of the 15th century. Initially modest with two pieces per level, it was enlarged in the 16th and 17th centuries, winning in majesty thanks to successive work campaigns. The south facade, adorned with a protruding pavilion and skylights, contrasts with the austere northern facade, with a classic porch and cylindrical turrets. Inside, 16th century murals, depicting hunting scenes and local saints, decorate the sandstones.

The fief belonged first to the family Du Merle, then to Le Michel (XVIth century) and the La Pallu (XVIIIth century). Georges Bisson, Mayor of Livarot, owned it before the remains of murals were rediscovered in the 2000s. The manor house is surrounded by exceptional commons: an octagonal dovecote of 1560 in wooden strips, a two-tiered press (dated between 15th and 17th century), and stables of 1720 extended by a Renaissance-decorated cartretery. These elements, as well as the mansion itself, have been protected as historical monuments since 1923 and 2004.

Ranked a historic monument in 1923 for the house and in 2004 for the press and its cellar, the Bellou mansion illustrates the seigneurial architecture of the country of Auge. Its dovecote, typical of noble dwellings, and its press, witness to local agricultural activities, underline its anchor in Norman rural history. The interior paintings, rare for the period, and the half-timbered structures make a preserved example of the aristocratic habitat of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

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