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Origin and history

Neuilly-la-Forêt Castle, located in the natural park of the Marais du Cotentin and Bessin (Calvados), is a former residence of the bishops of Bayeux founded in the 11th century. Placed on a strategic site both economic and defensive, it served as a rural retreat during the disturbances. The building, partially listed as historical monuments in 1999, preserves remains of the 13th and 15th centuries, mixing Romanesque and Gothic styles: cross-archs, arcades, bays, as well as traces of destroyed towers and courtines.

In the 11th century, the castle was given to Odon, bishop of Bayeux and half brother of William the Conqueror. He suffered several seats during the Hundred Years' War: captured and burned by Geoffroy d'Harcourt in 1346, occupied by the English in the 15th century, then degraded during the Wars of Religion. Bishop Pierre de Villaines died there in 1360, his body remaining 70 years because of a conflict with the pope. François de Nesmond, the last resident bishop, occupied him in the early eighteenth century.

Sold as a national property in 1791 to Jean-Barthélemy Le Couteulx, the castle suffered predations in the 19th century. Today, the site is a major archaeological reserve for medieval civil architecture, with protected elements: medieval houses (scenes, arcades), chapel, 14th century barn, and floor plates. The remains testify to its defensive and residential role, between episcopal power and historical conflicts.

The facades, roofs and interior remains (Gothic bays, Romanesque arcades) have been registered since 1999. The chapel and barn, dated from the 13th to 14th centuries, illustrate the transition between Romanesque and Gothic. The site, though partially in ruins, offers a rare glimpse of Norman episcopal residences, between religious, military and seigneurial functions.

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