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Origin and history

The castle of Fresney-le-Puceux, located in Calvados in Normandy, was built between 1578 and 1584 for Pierre d'Harcourt, Marquis de Beuvron and Marshal de camp, as well as for his wife Gilonne de Goyon-Matignon. This castle, characteristic of 16th century architecture, is inspired by the model of the castle of Torigny-sur-Vire, built by the Matignon family. The estate remained in the Harcourt descendants until 1837, before passing into the hands of the families of Guerchy, then of Cléron d'Haussonville, after successive matrimonial alliances.

The castle is organized around a trapezoidal courtyard surrounded by dry moats, with a long house body initially flanked by two pavilions. One of them disappeared in the 19th century because of a lack of maintenance. Ranked a historic monument in 1930, the building, neglected in the 20th century, benefited from major restoration from 1982. Its architecture reflects the prestige of the House of Harcourt, one of the most powerful Norman families of modern times.

Fresney-le-Puceux was a strategic fief for the Harcourts, a branch of Beuvron, who lived there until the sale of the estate in 1837 to Charles Pierre Paul Paulmier, MP and senator of Calvados. The castle then changed several times before its heritage renaissance in the 1980s. The arms of Charles de Fiesque, second husband of Gilonne d'Harcourt in 1643, testify to the successive alliances that marked his history.

The west wing of the house was destroyed in 1944, probably during the bombings of the Battle of Normandy. The dovecote, present on the 1808 cadastre, has now disappeared. The site, located 15 km south of Caen, near Cinglais, embodies both Norman seigneurial heritage and the challenges of preserving rural heritage.

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