Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Buisson-de-May castle, located in Saint-Aquilin-de-Pacy in the Eure (Normandy), is a remarkable example of neoclassical architecture built in the late eighteenth century. Commanded by Jean-Jacques de Bordeaux, it was designed in 1781 by the royal architect Denis Antoine, who gave it a hybrid style combining Louis XVI and Louis XIV influences. The four dissimilar facades and the hemicycle-structured park, with its extended perspectives, reflect this stylistic duality.

The castle had several uses after its construction: a holiday colony in the 1930s, an English military hospital during the Second World War, and then a presumed refuge for resistance fighters in 1944. Abandoned and looted, it underwent major restoration from 1999. Today, it is open to the public for cultural events and allows us to study the construction techniques of the period.

Ranked a historic monument in 1994, the castle includes in its protection hemicycle esplanades, moats, access bridge and landscape perspectives. A first restoration campaign took place at the end of the 19th century under the direction of Charles Couvreux, thus preserving his architectural heritage.

The building also illustrates the methods of landscape composition of the eighteenth century, with a discreet platform and prolonged views beyond the hemicycles. These elements, combined with its marked neoclassical style, make it a unique testimony of the aristocratic art of living before the French Revolution.

External links