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Origin and history

The Bimorel mansion, located in Imbleville, Seine-Maritime, was built in 1491 by Zanon (Janon) of Dampierre, seigneur of Biville-la-Baignarde, and his wife Marie de Gouvis. This pink brick castle, nicknamed the "Pearl of the Saân", was a strong house built in an island formed by the river to control the passage of the valley. An inscription above the old door recalled its foundation: "The year of grace 1491, noble Messir Janon de Dampierre... raised this house.".

Over the centuries, the estate changed hands several times. In 1597, it was acquired by Nicolas Baudry, a lawyer in the Normandy Parliament, and then passed on to his descendants until the 18th century. In 1801, the land returned to Bimorel's family by marriage, before being inherited by the Follevilles in the 19th century. Louis de Folleville then transformed the castle, adding a park and turning the Saâne to create moat fed by springs.

Between 1917 and 1961, Madame de Saint Rémy and her son Gilbert undertook important work, including the addition of a double-revolution staircase from the Dukes' Castle of Elbeuf. The manor house, inscribed in historical monuments in 1944, combines medieval elements (tours, drawbridge) and modifications of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its park, with rooms of water and canals, as well as its independent moats of the river, make it a harmonious architectural ensemble despite the disparate appearances.

Originally, the castle was protected by two arms of the Saân and surrounded by four towers, two of which remain. A gallery supported by arcades linked the house to the chapel, serving as a public nave on Sundays. In the 19th century, a square wing was added on either side of the house, while the river, a flood source, was diverted. The estate, a private property not open to the public, today retains the nickname "Pearl of the Saâne".

The lands of Imbleville formed in the 15th century a seigneury owned by the family of Dampierre, influential in the area. The mansion, conceived as a strong house, illustrates the defensive architecture of the period, while evolving towards a seigneurial residence. The successive transformations, especially in the 19th and 20th centuries, reflect the adaptations to the needs and tastes of the owners, while preserving original elements such as moats and towers.

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